


I Don’t Need Your Protection.

by SaltyCatPerson



Category: Boku no Hero Academia, My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Eventual Fluff, Fluff, Kirishima Eijirou is a Dork, M/M, Minor Angst, Minor TodoDeku, Mutual Pining, Prince!Bakugo/Bodyguard!Kirishima, Swearing, Violence, implied tododeku - Freeform, kind of slow burn, quirkless au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-07-04 06:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15835857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltyCatPerson/pseuds/SaltyCatPerson
Summary: Katsuki Bakugo is a young, stubborn, short-tempered Prince.His mother and royal advisor have grown concerned with his attitude, jumping to the conclusion that he is just lonely and needs someone to keep him well-balanced.This is when Hanta Sero, his advisor, poses the brilliant idea to hire him a bodyguard.The dorky, red haired Eijirou Kirishima is at Bakugo’s service - even if the Prince is completely against the idea of having a personal guard.Will Bakugo open up and accept Kirishima as his newfound friend (or more)? Or will he stay as stubborn and as explosive as ever?





	1. Lonely.

When you think of princes, normally the first thoughts would be charming, kind and approachable men who would embark on quests to save damsels in distress. Usually, those tales would end in ‘the handsome prince receiving a true love’s kiss from the beautiful princess.’ Life as a prince always seemed a one way trip to paradise, popularity, fame and fortune dumped at your feet whilst you have hundreds of admirers doing all the hard work for you.

However, life as Prince Bakugo Katsuki was never seen as the cliché handsome prince shtick. Instead, the young man of 23 wasn’t charming, nor kind and definitely not approachable. His character was far more ‘explosive’, as his mother would describe - though she wasn’t much better. Bakugo had a much harsher way of speaking to others, his tone far too snarky to be considered a charmer. And of course the elephant in the room was that he was quite pretentious, saw everyone as below him - so having a kind nature was definitely out of the picture. The simplest way to describe the young prince was constantly angry, his father making the assumption that Bakugo had inherited it from his easily infuriated mother. To help him cope with this, the King and Queen decided to hire someone to teach him hand-to-hand combat so that he could channel all of his emotions into self-defence rather than useless rage. This setup was arranged when the Prince was much smaller, around the age of 5. His parents were glad that they had gotten their son into self-defence combat as it would not only help Bakugo’s anger but it would also allow him to protect himself from any possibly intruders.

The blond haired and red eyed Prince also had no intentions of finding a beautiful princess to spend his days with, that was boring. First of all, falling in love wasn’t on his ‘to do list’, second - he was gay. Girls just seemed uninteresting to him, contrary to his mother’s knowledge. She would always complain about how Bakugo wasn’t looking for a wife, unaware of the fact that he didn’t care for love or girls. In all fairness, he hadn’t actually come out to his parents, feeling that there wasn’t ever a right time for him.

Recently, Bakugo’s royal advisor, Sero Hanta, had noticed the young Prince’s behaviour slip a little. He would become more easily angered, often ending up with him exploding in Sero’s face. Because of this, the advisor felt it necessary to explain to the King and Queen his theories of why the prince acted like this. His main explanation, and the one that made most sense, was that Bakugo Katsuki appeared lonely. Sero believed that the prince was tired of having no new faces around the castle for him to torment- or ‘befriend’. The Queen agreed with the royal advisor’s belief, deciding to set up dinner parties with neighbouring royal families to allow Bakugo Katsuki to get to know the other princes and princesses. 

Many families from across the various kingdoms had attended multiple dinner parties in hope for the stubborn prince to find a friend, but alas, every son and daughter from different kings and queens he met were just too boring for him. He was disinterested and distracted every time he sat down at the table with a different family.

The Prince’s mother had also planned a visit from the infamous Midoriya royal family, consisting of Queen Inko Midoriya and Prince Bakugo’s long lasting ‘friend’, Prince Midoriya Izuku. There was a reason that Prince Bakugo was lonely, he didn’t like Midoriya one bit. Whenever his parents suggested they visit, the young prince would simply make up a poor excuse as to why he couldn’t see Midoriya - or ‘Deku’, as he called him. However, this time was different, Bakugo’s attitude was beginning to concern the staff and monarchs.

On the night of the Midoriyas’ arrival, Prince Bakugo was pacing around in his room, fuming. His piercing blood red eyes stayed fixed on the royal red carpet that decorated his floor. The prince grumbled frustratedly to himself for a few moments before he heard a crisp knock at his door, making him glance up. “Hah? Who’s there and what do you want?” Bakugo snapped impatiently, a muffled voice coming from the other side.

“Sir, it’s me, may I come in?” The royal advisor called, receiving a tut and an unimpressed grunt of approval from the other. Sero carefully turned the doorknob, slowly opening the door. He stood in the doorway, looking at the prince. “Queen and Prince Midoryia will be arriving soon, your mother would like you downstairs in the throne room so you can greet them,” the black haired man spoke as respectfully as he could, even though the prince had gotten on his nerves recently.

“Tch, why should I greet those extras? Especially Deku..” Bakugo growled harshly, rolling his eyes afterwards. He crossed his arms and stood still, staring at the young man in the doorframe, “why are they even here?”

Sero sighed patiently, “the Queen and I were.. worried.. about your current state. You seemed lonely-“ he was then cut off by the pretentious man.

“Hah? Lonely? I’m not lonely! I don’t need friends! That’s beneath me, I don’t need people to help me become successful,” Bakugo sneered loudly, promptly storming up to Sero and glaring at him before grabbing him by the collar, “are you saying that I need help?”

The advisor’s eyes widened suddenly, “what? No! Your majesty, please let go, I was only ordered to collect you! Look, I know you don’t like Prince Midor-“

“If you knew that then why was he invited over?”

“The Queen thinks you’re friends!” Sero tried to explain, a little scared of the Prince as he was doing so.

“That old woman knows nothing, doesn’t she?” The prince tutted.

“Well.. she just thinks you need to have a friend, you know? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have someone by your side, maybe if I requested for a bodyguard of some sort?” Sero suggested timidly, closing his eyes and bracing himself for a smack on the face.

Bakugo tightened his grip on the other’s collar, which made his knuckles begin to glow white, before soon relaxing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suddenly shoving Sero out and slamming the door. The advisor stumbled back, gaining his balance back after a couple of steps; he looked at the closed door and sighed, “think about it, Sir..”

“Shut up, soy sauce!” The irritated young man shouted to the advisor through the walls, using his insulting nickname for the other. He didn’t get a response, all Bakugo heard was the footsteps of Sero slowly walking away, the sound fading.

‘Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have someone by your side’ echoed in the Prince’s mind. “Tch, I don’t need anyone..” he muttered to himself stubbornly before soon leaving his room and reluctantly walking down to the throne room. As he walked down the long halls, Bakugo’s eyes drifted to the tall ceiling, his mind wandering to various thoughts. Was Sero right? The Prince has never thought about it before but maybe he did feel lonely, even if he’d never admit to it. The castle seemed too big just for him, his parents and a few staff members. Maybe he was bored of the same old daily routine too, staying cooped up in his room for a few hours, sparring for a while and shuffling around the castle. Bakugo hardly went outside, he had never explored the towns or outside the kingdom. Soon, the young Prince shook those thoughts away, erupting a grunt of frustration as he finally reached the throne room.

The Queen greeted him with a disappointed grumble, “took your time, didn’t you, Katsuki? What if Queen Midoryia had gotten here before you were here? We need to give a good impression for the guests.”

“Shut it, hag, I’m here, aren’t I?” The explosive man hissed at his mother.

To say that these two had an interesting relationship was a bit of an understatement. Bakugo had received his personality from her, which meant that the two would often clash; two explosive personalities lead to a large fire. However, this also allowed the two to have a close bond - both given the option to be rude, loud and sarcastic to those they both disliked together. It had always been this back and forth relationship from being as thick as thieves to not wanting to be in the same room as one another. Bakugo’s father acted as their voice of reason, a reality check; yet, neither his wife nor son paid too much attention to him. 

“Be polite! They’ll be here any moment.”

And with that, the news of the Midoriya’s arrival was announced. The stubborn Prince’s sharp eyes soon landed on the soft, familiar green ones from across the room. Bakugo’s jaw tightened.

“Deku..”


	2. Dinner Party With the Midoriyas’s.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen and Prince Midoriya have visited for a catch-up dinner party, however it didn’t go as expected..

Immediately, the room thickened with tension as the pretentious Prince glared at the short, green haired man from the other end of the room. Midoriya gulped and glanced to his mother who was looking forward. Of course, the Queens looked at each other, curtsied and greeted with smiles and a soft exchange in words once they were close enough. Prince Bakugo merely tutted, receiving a death stare from his mother. 

“It’s so lovely to see you again, Mitsuki, and my, hasn’t young Katsuki grown,” the short Queen spoke with a cheerful smile. Their families had been friends for years, both of Bakugo’s parents got on well with Midoriya and his mother, Inko.

“Yes, he has, though his attitude is still the same,” Bakugo’s mother responded, rubbing the top of her son’s head. The Prince grunted, his eyes narrowing as he looked up to the blonde Queen.

“Get off me, old lady,” Bakugo snapped, quickly earning a clean slap on the top of his head. ‘So much for good impressions..’ he thought to himself, folding his arms and looking to the floor.

“Well.. boys will be boys, I suppose,” chuckled Inko happily.

‘She’s too happy,’ the Prince thought to himself, rolling his eyes at her remark.

“Yes, of course, of course, now please follow us to the dining hall. Dinner will be served in a few minutes, why don’t we catch up at the table?” the blonde Queen replied with her trademark smile, promptly lifting her dress up a little so she could walk into the other room without tripping over. Her husband took her by the hand, whilst their son trailed behind them.

On their short walk to the dining hall, Bakugo’s old ‘friend’ caught up to him so that they were next to each other. The pretentious Prince refused to look him in the eyes, “whatever it is that you’re going to say, don’t. I don’t care,” he muttered harshly to the other, his eyes not meeting the other’s.

“Kacchan, please, I’m here for a reason.. our parents want us to be friends,” Midoriya explained with a sigh, trying to catch the red eyes of the other, “we’ve known each other for years, does that all mean nothing to you?”

“You’re beginning to sound oddly and annoyingly romantic, rephrase that,” was all Bakugo responded with bluntly.

“We’ve been friends since we were little kids! Or- that’s what I thought.. why won’t you accept that?”

“Because I don’t like you, Deku. I don’t need nor want friends, especially not with you,” the blond sneered, scruffily stuffing his hands into his pockets as his posture began to wafer, “would you quit talking to me?”

The short green haired Prince’s face dropped, sighing out of disappointment, though he wasn’t surprised. His mother had mentioned that Queen Bakugo was worried for Kacchan’s current mood. Izuku was told that speaking to the other Prince would be more challenging that usual. The two continued to walk to the dining hall side by side, in silence.

Once they reached the room, the five of the, were met with a large wooden table placed in the centre, a gorgeous chandelier hung above their heads and a beautifully patterned rug. To the common folk, this room would’ve been absolutely breathtaking, however, Bakugo personally found the room quite ugly. Of course, it wasn’t like he could do anything about it, his mother was the one who decided the decor and she just happened to like this room.

They were swiftly lead to one end of the table by various servants, the Bakugo’s on one side and the Midoriya’s on the other so that they were facing each other. Izuku opposite Katsuki, Inko opposite Mitsuki and Masaru sat on the end seat. 10 minutes of more casual discussion, 5 plates of food were brought out onto the table; they contained a sort of fish-like starter dish. Quiet exchanges of gratitude could be heard from Queen and Prince Midoriya, causing the young blond to huff. Everything that Deku seemed to do pissed Bakugo off, no matter how rational or irrational it was. Perhaps it was because the young green haired man was too happy and kind to everyone, in which the other Prince was neither.

The explosive young man zoned out of whatever conversation the two queens and Prince Midoriya were currently in, something about how Deku was doing now and if anything exciting in his life was going on. Bakugo’s father also wasn’t talking, he was simply listening in on the conversation rather than contributing. It was quite obvious to everyone that out of the King and Queen, Mitsuki was a lot more active with important conversations and running the kingdom, not that she really minded. 

Bakugo kept his eyes on the plate of fish that had been placed in front of him, twirling the fork in his fingers slowly. He didn’t want to be there, especially with these people. The blond didn’t want to ‘catch up’ with Midoryia or Inko, knowing that the conversations would turn awkward or uncomfortable.

And as if on cue, the green haired Queen glanced over to the explosive male sitting diagonally from her with a soft, familiar smile. “How are you, Katsuki? How’s your life at the moment?” She asked calmly.

Prince Bakugo looked up at her with a mix of confusion and disgust written on his face, “hah? I’m fine,” he replied quickly before glancing back down to his food to signal his disinterest. Lucky for him, Queen Midoryia didn’t mind and went back to talking with Mitsuki.

A few more minutes went by and everyone had finished their starters, a couple of servers quickly taking their plates away. In that awkward wait between starters and main course, Bakugo’s ears had perked up from the conversation topic, “so, Izuku, how’s your love life? Anyone caught your eye?” Mitsuki asked innocently with a chuckle.

“I- uh, well.. There’s this guy.. that I’ve been talking to, his name is Todoroki Shouto- uhm..” he paused and went a little quiet, “Prince Todoroki Shouto..” Izuku murmured, twiddling with his thumbs as a small blush began to form on his face. Both of the women squealed and chuckled, commenting on how adorable young love was.

“What about you, Bakugo? Have you got a special someone in your life?” Queen Midori teased, causing the blond man’s eyes to shoot up so that they were level with hers.

“Hah? Of course not! I haven’t got time for that stuff, it’s pointless, useless! I couldn’t care less,” the Prince spat, clearly offended by the simple question, “why would you ask me that?”

“Katsuki! Apologise right away!” Mitsuki hissed at her son, jabbing him with her elbow before turning to Inko - visibly horrified with how her son lashed out, “I’m so sorry, your highness.” 

The blond Prince stood up from his seat and quickly stormed out of the hall and up to his bedroom. This left the other four in shock, silence filled the room before Mitsuki let out a disappointed and frustrated sigh. “This isn’t your fault, Mitsuki, I shouldn’t have asked,” the shorter Queen said apologetically.

“I don’t know what to do with him, he’s been a lot worse lately with his attitude. He’s easily annoyed now, and I can’t seem to fix it.. the advisor believes that he’s just lonely.. I think my son is beginning to go insane..” 

“Well.. a bodyguard could work, possibly? They’d need to stay by Bakugo’s side and they also double up as defence for him,” Inko suggested helpfully.

“Yes, we were discussing that as an option, I’m just not sure how effective one would be,” Mitsuki pointed out, glancing to the now empty seat beside her.

Soon, Izuku built up the courage to speak, “I know a guy..! Who’s a bodyguard, obviously, uh.. he used to work for Todoroki.. he was a really friendly man, very likeable.. after a month or so with him, Todoroki became- well.. more emotionally available.. he was more open. I believe that was because of the bodyguard, he served as emotional support to him as well as physical support..” his voice trailed off after he noticed himself ramble a little, becoming a mutter.

The Queens looked at the green haired Prince for a couple of seconds, which caused the young Midoriya to become self-conscious and his eyes darted down to his lap. “He was.. that useful?” Mitsuki questioned, receiving a quick nod, “Hm.. what’s his name? Maybe I could get in touch with him..”

“Kirishima.. er- Kirishima Eijirou..” 

The spiky haired woman thought for a moment, maybe Kirishima was the man who could fix Bakugo’s attitude a little, or at least dial it down a few notches. “Kirishima Eijirou, huh? I see, thank you.. I will probably ask one of the advisors to get in contact with him,” Mitsuki said, speaking her thoughts aloud.

After an hour or so, the Midoriyas’ left after Bakugo’s parents apologised once more. The second they stepped off of the castle property, Queen Bakugo headed straight to Sero Hanta, explaining the situation - about getting a bodyguard and contacting Kirishima Eijirou to see if he could be the solution to their explosive Prince’s problems.

‘Will Kirishima be enough?’ Thought the Queen as she walked down the halls, deep in worried thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> I hope you’re all doing well!  
> It’s 11pm here and I’ve finally finished Chapter 2 aha..
> 
> Y’all excited for Kirishima’s entrance next chapter? ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Kirishima Eijirou.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirishima receives a letter from Queen Bakugo Mitsuki.

Kirishima Eijirou’s sleepy eyes were woken abruptly by the sound of his roommate, Kaminari, bursting through the door of his bedroom. His expression was panicked, causing the red head to worry; he sat up and looked at his best friend after checking his phone for the time. 6:57am. It was definitely too early for his enthusiasm. “Bro..?” Kirishima murmured with a frown, “are you okay..? Why are you up so early?”

“I just got up to take a piss.. but then I heard someone at the door. And dude! You got a letter!” Kaminari exclaimed, his hand gripping on a white envelope as he waved it around.

The other just stared at him in disbelief, “.. okay? So what?” He asked, lying back down onto his side.

“Kiri, we live in the 21st century. Almost everyone texts or calls! So who are the only families that send letters?” The blond eccentric man asked as a grin began to appear on his face, eyes lighting up as he hurriedly walked up and gave the tired man a closer look. Kirishima hesitantly took the envelope from his friend with furrowed eyebrows. His fingers carefully feeling the paper as he read the name, ‘Kirishima Eijirou’ was written in quite fancy cursive. This intrigued the red haired man. He flipped the envelope over, revealing a wax stamp which stuck the flap down.

His ruby eyes widened.

That wax stamp, it had the royal symbol on it.

Kirishima felt himself grow hot, his heart racing a little. What did royalty want from him? Maybe they had heard the news of the young man working for Prince Todoroki in the past. Was he getting recognition from other royal families? The red eyed man had worked for a royal family before but only once and merely assumed that it was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity that would never come up again. However he stand corrected, as he examined the writing and the wax. All of a sudden, he didn’t want to open the letter; Kirishima was too afraid, feeling his palms sweating a little. He glanced up to Kaminari, who’s yellow eyes were looking back at him, “Well? Aren’t you going to open it?” He asked, practically pouncing on Kirishima in painful anticipation.

“Uh! Yeah, yeah.. alright..!” The other replied in a stutter, his fingers carefully peeling at the wax. Kirishima’s eyes squinted once he took out the piece of expensive-looking paper. “‘ _Dear Kirishima Eijirou,’_ ” the young man read aloud, swallowing thickly before continuing, “‘ _my name is Queen Bakugo Mitsuki and I am in need of your assistance. My son, Prince Bakugo Katsuki, has had quite poor attitude recently. He has become more easily irritable and is much ruder lately. My judgement and his royal advisor’s judgement is that my son has become quite lonely. Because of this’_ \- Kaminari bro!” Kirishima paused to frown at his friend, who was in hysterics.

“Sorry, dude! Prince Bakugo is lonely? Is that seriously what they’ve called you up for? To act as his company?” The blond asked in disbelief and continued to laugh.

“Let me finish, there’s more!” The man sighed, clearing his throat to continue, “-‘ _Because of this, I am asking for your service, Mr Kirishima, to act as Bakugo’s emotional support as well as his protector. I had heard from a reliable source that you have previously worked for Prince Todoroki Shoto, therefore I am trusting you to help my son. Please write back as soon as possible. Yours faithfully, Queen Bakugo Mitsuki._ ’”

“Woah, man.. dude, I don’t know if you should take this..” Kaminari frowned, “I’ve heard some shit about Prince Bakugo, I’ve heard that he’s a huge jerk! And once, he got someone fired because they accidentally stood on his foot!”

“Uh huh.. where did you get this information from?” Kirishima asked with a unconvinced eyebrow raise, “I think I should try it out.. I mean, how often do I get the chance to work with royalty?”

“This is your second offer! It’s pretty common for you if you ask me,” Kaminari tutted, folding his arms, “look, maybe you should give it some thought. I don’t trust Bakugo, his family seems.. explosive..”

“Hmph, unless you’ve actually spent time with them, I don’t think you should be judging them. Besides, _you_ weren’t the one asked to work for them,” the red haired man pointed out, deciding to get up and ready for the day as he knew that he wouldn’t get any sleep after this news he received. He gently placed the opened envelope onto his bedside table and checked the time once more, 7:12am.

Carefully, he pushed passed his best friend so he could make his way to the kitchen. Kaminari followed closely, not finished trying to convince Kirishima out of the offer. “What if he’s a huge dick to you? Queen Bakugo said you need to serve as emotional support! What if that means he has a whole bunch of unresolved problems bottled up? He could let that loose in your direction!”

“Dude, bro, Kaminari. I’ll be fine, I can take it! Besides, it’ll be a challenge, won’t it? Backing down from that because I’m scared of a bit of shouting is totally uncool and unmanly,” the red eyed man sighed, taking a piece of toast and placing it into the toaster. Then, he took a glass and filled it with water, quickly taking a sip before looking back at Kaminari. “I’ll be okay, dude, I promise.. hey, I’ll try to text you updates if that’d make you feel better!” He suggested as he smiled at his concerned friend. The yellow eyed man thought for a moment, glancing to the floor before looking back up at Kirishima.

He nodded and smiled, “yeah.. okay.. I’ll be here when you get back, okay? So don’t be too long using that friendly magic of yours! Seriously, dude, I don’t know a _single person_ who could actually hate you. I’m sure Prince Bakugo will love you, and if he doesn’t then I’m still here!” Kaminari said, feeling a lot happier and pumped, “you better reply to the Queen’s letter!” Kirishima nodded back, grinning widely at the other, “man I don’t know where I’d be without you! You’re the best..” he remarked before quickly hugging the other.

*

A week later, the red haired young man was sat in a special limo that had arrived outside of his house at 7:15am. He had collected up all of his essentials, said his goodbyes with Kaminari and was now on his way to the castle. As expected, the young man was terrified. Nerves and stomach butterflies bottling up inside of him, eating away at his organs. To help calm down, Kirishima decided to look out of the window and watch the passers by.

After what felt like decades, though was more like 45 minutes, the limo arrived at the castle grounds. The door to the car opened, the young man promptly stepped out and was lead into the throne room. As he stepped inside his home for the next few months, or more, he felt his nerves basically spilling all over the floor. Kirishima watched as the figure of a woman stood up, he quickly recognised her as Queen Bakugo. His eyes flickered to the person stood beside her, this time a man. Possibly around his age. Kirishima gulped, his red eyes catching the piercing ones of Prince Bakugo Katsuki. Once he was close enough, the bodyguard bowed to show respect.

“Please rise, Mr Kirishima Eijirou,” a woman’s voice commanded, which caused the fearful man to stand up straight, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, I am Queen Bakugo Mitsuki, I’ve heard good things from the Todoroki family.”

“Thank you, your highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you too..” Kirishima responded calmly, a determined and concentrated expression plastered to his face.

“This is my son, your duty, Prince Bakugo Katsuki,” She continued, gesturing to the younger blond beside her. They had matching eyes, both red and sharp. Like mother, like son.

Suddenly, the Prince lazily took a few steps forward, so he could get a closer look of the new bodyguard. He said nothing and showed disinterest. “It’s nice to meet you, sir..” Kirishima simply said giving the blond a small, respectful smile. Bakugo continued to stay quiet, now beginning to circle a couple of times around the red haired man. He seemed to be thinking as he looked up and down Kirishima. Soon, the Prince huffed and shrugged before walking away.

Then, he stopped, subtly glancing back at the young man.

“ _Your hair looks shitty_..” his gruff and raspy voice said bluntly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Thank you for reading Chapter 3!
> 
> My upload schedule is gonna.. slip a bit.. I’m going back to school on Tuesday (pray for me lmao) and I have work on Sunday D:
> 
> I’m sorry for this!! I’ll try to upload as much as I can, though it won’t be as frequent!
> 
> Thank you,  
> \- Salty


	4. Settling In.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sero helps Kirishima move in to his new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok hi quick disclaimer: ‘under armour’ is basically a thin material (normally used for insulation) that you wear underneath normal clothes. It’s used a lot in sports, especially if it’s cold. 
> 
> That’s it, lol, enjoy!

‘Your hair looks shitty’ rang in Kirishima’s mind, causing him to ignorantly cock his head to the side and smile in confusion. Prince Bakugo’s first impression of him was.. that? The young man was caught off-guard, his eyes fixed on the Prince’s. 

“I’m sorry, your highness..?” Kirishima asked with a bit of concern. His eyes wandered to Bakugo’s hair, which honestly looked similar to his but blond. Surely he wouldn’t call Kirishima’s hair ‘shitty’ if he knew how indifferent the two hairstyles were?

“You fuckin’ heard me, don’t make me repeat it,” the Prince spat before walking out of the throne room and up to his bedroom.

To say that the Queen looked disappointed was an understatement, she was mortified. Her eyes were wide ever since the words had left the young Prince’s uncensored mouth. She simply stared at Kirishima, who didn’t look too offended - more confused at the sudden statement. “I..don’t know what to say.. I am so sorry, Kirishima. He’s like that with everyone, this is why we requested your help..” she explained with a tired sigh. 

Just then, another staff member walked into the room; he had straight, black hair and a kind face. He stopped beside the Queen with a small frown, “I’m assuming the bodyguard is here, Prince Bakugo was grumbling down the corridor.. something about a ‘weird redhead’..?” He asked, catching a glimpse of red in the corner of his eye. Suddenly he turned to face Kirishima, who gave the other a smile. “Oh! That.. that must be you..” the black haired young man commented weakly.

“Sero, this is Kirishima Eijirou, and yes he’s the bodyguard that Prince Midoriya has spoken about..” the Queen explained, still a little fazed, “Kirishima, this is Sero Hanta. He’s the Royal Advisor for Katsuki. Sero will take you to your chamber, it’s quite close to my son’s so if there’s an attack during the night, you can quickly get to him. Please follow Sero, your luggage should’ve been taken whilst we’ve been speaking. A uniform has also been given to you, it will be laid out on your bed. Please get changed immediately and I advise that you try to get to know Katsuki, he won’t cooperate too well so you’ll need to be patient..”

“Ah, thank you, your highness. I’ll get right on it! Uh, lead the way, Sero..” the bright red eyed man spoke, quickly bowing one last time and following the other man.

Once they were both out of the throne room, Kirishima decided to get to know Sero a little as they would have to work quite closely with each other. “So, how long have you had the job as ‘royal advisor’?” He started with an easy question, trying to be friendly.

“Oh, well only a year or so.. I was originally just a butler but then the Queen was just.. well.. complaining to me because she had no one else to rant to.. I apparently gave her really good advice and after a few months, she promoted me to advisor, but I’m only technically the Prince’s advisor. It’s not the worst job in the world but I’ll warn you now, Prince Bakugo can be.. tricky.. be careful, alright? Try not to get on his bad side,” Sero responded, looking at Kirishima with a small smile.

The bodyguard wasn’t too worried, knowing that it would take a lot to drive him out. He was a patient person when it came to people. However, Kirishima did want to make a good impression on the Prince.

“So tell me, Kirishima Eijirou, why did you decide to take up the job? Surely you were told about.. Bakugo’s attitude..” the advisor whispered the last part, just in case someone was in a snitching mood. If the prince had heard what Sero was saying about him, he’d die at his hands instantly.

“Well.. who would pass up the opportunity to work for royalty? It’s a great experience! Plus, it allows my name to spread to more clients.. if my CV has ‘worked for Prince Todoroki and Prince Bakugo’ on it, I’ll have hundreds of new clients!” The guard exclaimed with a grin, “also, I like the challenge. It’s just so manly to take up this challenge! You know?”

“Yes, that makes sense. Well, welcome to the castle staff family! If you have any questions just ask me..”

“I have one question, will I be able to contact my friends and family? If so, can I use my phone? Or do I have to send a letter?” The bubbly Kirishima asked, hoping that he could talk to Kaminari every now and then.

Sero thought for a moment, suddenly walking upstairs with the other as they reached closer to the chamber, “I think you’re allowed to talk to people outside of the castle, though you’ll have to send a letter because your writing needs to be checked.. you know, just in case you’re secretly planning an attack..”

“Oh, yeah that’s understandable.. do I need to hand my phone in, then?” The young man then asked, a little disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to instantly speak to Kaminari. However, at least he was even getting the chance to speak to his best bro and roommate.

“Uh, yeah, that’d be for the best..”

“Aw, man, okay..” Kirishima murmured, sad that he had to part with his beloved cellphone.

Soon, Sero stopped outside of a closed wooden door. He slowly opened it, to reveal the guard’s bedroom, “This is your stop! Get dressed into your uniform, I’ll meet you out here so I can properly introduce you to his highness and explain a few more things, okay?”

Kirishima nodded gratefully, quickly thanking the other and walking inside to admire his new home, closing the door behind him. ‘It’s beautiful.. and lot bigger than my room back at mine and Kaminari’s place..’ he thought to himself, taking in the atmosphere and scent of the room. As expected, his suitcase had been delivered and placed on his bed. Also on the bed was his uniform, which appeared pretty standard. However, when he got a closer look, he realised that it looked a little small. The bodyguard frowned subtly, picking up what he had been provided. Kirishima sighed, deciding to try it on anyway, he was sure that he told them the correct sizings for him.

After a few minutes of trying to work out how to put on the suit, he finally managed it. The ruby eyed man stared at his reflection in the full-body mirror that was placed in the corner of his bedroom. Kirishima figured out that it was supposed to be a bit of a tight fit. His uniform consisted of full black under armour; black, tight (but stretchy) trousers; a small, black shirt with the kingdom emblem embroidered onto the left breast in a golden thread and red gear-shaped shoulder pads. He knew that he was going to get quite hot in his uniform so he’d probably have to make some adjustments later on. However, the young man was dressed so he quickly made his way out to Sero, who was stood patiently outside his room. 

The advisor took a quick glance at the uniform the new bodyguard had, “hm.. it’s definitely.. defining..” was all he could really say. Sero wasn’t wrong, the material had stretched across Kirishima’s torso and legs enough so that there were faint lines of his muscles showing through. The red haired man wasn’t too embarrassed, however, he didn’t mind showing his muscles - through fabric or not.

“Yeah, I guess it’s supposed to be intimidating?”

“Probably, anyways, Prince Bakugo’s room is a couple of doors down on your right, so when you come out of your chamber, head to the right.. let’s go introduce you two..” Sero said with a smile directed towards the newbie. With that, he lead him to the blond’s closed door.

The advisor took a deep breath before knocking on the door, “your highness? It’s Sero, I’m here with your new bodyguard, Kirishima. The Queen would like it if you two introduced yourselves and got to know one another.”

“I’ve already met Shitty Hair, why do I need to see him again?” A muffled, gruff voice could be heard from the other. He didn’t sound particularly cheerful.

“Your mother just thinks you two should learn a bit more about each other, so Kirishima can settle in better!”

“Tch, no, I don’t want him here. I never even asked for a fucking bodyguard! I don’t need to be protected! I don’t even want him as company, that’s such a stupid fucking idea. He should just leave whilst he still has the chance..” Bakugo’s harsh words were getting louder as the Prince walked closer to his door, suddenly swinging it open to give the two young men on the other side a disinterested look. 

Kirishima glanced to Sero, Sero glanced back at Kirishima; both were a little concerned at what the explosive blond would do next.

“... what the fuck are you wearing?” The piercing red eyes of Prince Bakugo Katsuki were staring, no, examining his bodyguard’s uniform. He looked him up and down, his face still showing a bored expression.

The red haired guard quickly snapped his head back so it was looking at his client, “huh? Oh- uh, it’s.. my, um-“

“Quit stuttering, I don’t care anymore..” Bakugo impatiently cut in, rolling his eyes, “like I said before, you should leave whilst you still can,” the prince’s voice sounded pissed as the door was slammed shut in the faces of Sero and Kirishima.

The advisor sighed, “I told you your highness was.. tricky..”

Instead of feeling defeated, the bodyguard nodded knowingly, “I understand that it’ll take some time for him to be used to me. It happens with most clients. I’m used to it by now, don’t worry, I’ll get there one day!” He said hopefully, which caused the other’s expression to soften.

“Wow, you’re so.. nice and patient, that’s new around here..” Sero joked with a grin, “I hope you’re right, though the Prince probably isn’t the same as most clients..”

The black haired man was right, Bakugo would be different. 

Kirishima inhaled and exhaled deeply, would he be able to help Prince Bakugo?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha hello again! 
> 
> Soooo if you couldn’t tell, I used Kirishima’s hero costume as inspiration for his bodyguard ‘uniform’ but they aren’t the same because I don’t think that a shirtless uniform would be appropriate lmao
> 
> How do you feel about Sero and Kirishima as working buddies? It’s so great in my opinion haha!
> 
> Also, I’m gonna add letters to and from Kaminari in later chapters because those boys are still bROS! I think it’d be cool to add short letters :>
> 
> Anywho, thank you for reading Chapter 4!  
> \- Salty


	5. First Week of Disaster.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirishima’s first few days at work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! This chapter is about 2000 words so it’s my longest chapter lol (even if that’s still short pffft)
> 
> If you spot any mistakes please tell me, I’ll try to fix them ASAP!

All of Kirishima Eijirou’s duties were fairly standard and normal, simply having to follow Bakugo around to make sure he wouldn’t get secretly attacked or into any trouble (whether caused by him or not). To the rest of the castle staff, the red haired young man probably looked like a puppy following the Prince. For the first day, the guard decided to not try to speak too much to Bakugo, wanting to get a grip of his character. Of course, he had some things beforehand so figuring out how the blond reacted to certain situations didn’t take very long. Kirishima’s conclusion was that Bakugo Katsuki was an explosive, young man who was quite confident in his own ability. He was shown to not be one for conversation, either, which helped the guard to understand the situation.

 

It was the second day of the bodyguard’s duties, and up until the afternoon, he received constant abuse from the young Prince; it included things such as being called ‘shit hair’ and being told to leave him alone quite harshly. However, Kirishima wasn’t too affected by it, knowing that this job would be difficult and that Bakugo wouldn’t comply at first. The red haired man could understand why the other would be so frustrated, having someone following you around as if to judge your actions wasn’t a nice feeling. Unfortunately, this new setup wouldn’t change for a while so he’d need to get used to it.

 

The arrogant blond shuffled to the training hall, scuffing his feet against the marble floor that decorated the halls. Whenever the pair walked, crisp clacking could be heard, it was practically impossible to wander through whilst wearing shoes without being noticed.

 

The Prince didn’t allow Kirishima to watch him whilst training with Aizawa, his hand-to-hand combat teacher. The red head knew that Aizawa had been a loyal and old friend to the royal family, finding that out the day before when Bakugo went to train. Because of this, Kirishima would have to guard the only access to the hall.

 

The blond had a special outfit for sparring, though it definitely made him a lot less royal-looking. It consisted of a black tank top, grey joggers and white trainers. If Kirishima had to guess, the Prince’s training outfit was probably more expensive than his entire closet. And as much as the ruby eyed, young man tried his hardest to just look straight ahead as the two walked one behind the other (Bakugo in the front whilst the guard was trailing in the back), Kirishima couldn’t help but take a quick glance at the muscular arms of the other. His upper body was toned, which in a way made the other admire him a little. The bodyguard wasn’t jealous, if anything, he was inspired by the blond, spiky haired man - even if he was pretty strong and muscular himself.

 

Kirishima only took the one glance, though that one glance made him respect Bakugo Katsuki quite a lot.

 

He was just so manly!

 

Once the two reached the entrance, they were greeted by the black haired, tired eyed man who had known the Prince ever since he was small. The bodyguard stood up a little straighter after quickly nodding his head to the teacher as a sign of respect.

 

“Are you ready to train, Katsuki?” The tired voice droned in his usual monotone voice.

 

The blond, who hadn’t spoken at all on the way to the training hall, finally said something, “of course, dumbass, I’m always ready,” he muttered grumpily.

 

The doors were open to the hall, Aizawa held them open as Prince Bakugo sauntered in. Just as the doors were closing, the explosive young man stuck his foot out so they didn’t completely close. He had turned so his body was pointed towards Kirishima, though his head was turned. “Like yesterday, don’t come in or peek. Got it, shitty hair? If you do, I’ll kill you,” he explained with annoyance clear in his tone.

 

The bodyguard simply smiled at the Prince and nodded, “got it, your highness. I’ll be waiting out here when you’re ready to go back,”

 

“Tch, I don’t need you here, I can walk unaccompanied. Just leave before I make you,” the blond threatened with a growl, still not looking at the other pair of red eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, sir, but I was ordered to escort you around the castle grounds, I have to be here-“

 

“Quit talking, it’s annoying,” Bakugo cut in rudely, “fucking leave me alone!”

 

Kirishima kept a patient face, training to be a guard was mainly about being patient - though of course there was physical training involved.

 

“Hah? Are you listening to me? Go away! I’ll kill you right on the spot!” The Prince’s attitude had quickly turned to increasing anger.

 

“Katsuki, that’s enough. You need to train, stop being difficult and get inside,” the tired teacher finally spoke up, though his voice and face kept monotone. The red haired man was impressed by his bravery, both staying calm with the blond and for speaking up like that.

 

“What did you call me, old man? Difficult?” The Prince spat, turning to glare at the teacher.

 

No response.

 

Because of that, Bakugo Katsuki went quiet. However that was suddenly disrupted by the sound of the training hall doors slamming, which Kirishima could’ve sworn shook the entire castle’s structure.

 

The red haired man exhaled quietly, standing by the doors and looking outward to protect the entrance.

 

After a little while, possibly 25 or 30 minutes, the guard had grown quite bored. It wasn’t like there was much he could do aside from count the amount of servants that would walk past or try to say hello to a few. Of course, they were busy and didn’t have time to chat, which Kirishima understood and respected.

 

Bottom line was that he was bored.

 

He could faintly hear the grunts and yells coming from the young man from within the hall on the other side of the two solid doors. The guard wondered what he looked like when training, Kirishima figured that he’d look quite angry - guessing from the noises that creating a muffled sound that could be heard from the other side.

 

The red haired, red eyed young man had a thought, though it could get him fired. As much as he didn’t want to get fired, Kirishima Eijirou wanted to know what training looked like with him.

 

He took a deep breath, looking up and down the hall to see if anyone was coming. Luckily, the coast was clear. With that, he slowly turned to the door, a slow and slightly shaky hand made its way to the handle.

 

Click.

 

The wooden door opened with the subtle sound, the bodyguard carefully cracking the door open a little wider; just enough to peak inside. Thankfully, the Prince nor his teacher appeared to notice. The ruby red eyes darted across the hall until they met with the Prince’s figure, that was currently trying to beat the living hell out of Aizawa.

 

Bakugo was so passionate when he fought, giving it his all. It was mesmerising to watch his body dancing around the room with such force yet a strange kind of delicacy. He was proud with his movements though also careful.

 

Kirishima watched in awe, the blond, explosive boy was amazing. So manly!

 

After a few moments of watching the Prince sparring with Aizawa, who seemed to focus on playing defensive today, the red haired man closed the door and continued to guard the door. He knew that what he had just done ended in him being off-guard, he could’ve been attacked - or worse - the intruder could’ve gotten through to Bakugo.

 

From now on, he was going to stay focused, just until the Prince had decided that he had practiced enough.

 

*

 

Day 3 seemed quite standard, the Prince had taken a break from sparring as he felt a little achy from the session the day before. It was 3:30pm, Bakugo Katsuki lazily walked back to his bedroom from the dining hall as Kirishima Eijirou enthusiastically followed him - a few feet away so he wasn’t disrespecting the hothead’s abnormally large personal space bubble.

 

The happy bodyguard wanted to make conversation with the Prince, though he knew that he wouldn’t be willing to make much effort. However, today was the day that the spiky haired man was going to attempt to make conversation - real conversation - with Prince Bakugo.

 

“How was your training yesterday, your highness?” He piped up with his usual cheerful tone.

 

“.. don’t talk to me.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“What, are you fucking deaf? I said don’t talk to me, and don’t make me repeat myself,” the blond hissed, not even bothering to turn around.

 

Yes, he was quite resentful and definitely closed minded when it came to having a normal conversation with anyone. Nevertheless, the bodyguard was pretty determined to talk to the young man walking ahead of him.

 

“You seemed quite vocal in there, your majesty, was Aizawa-sensei pushing you to your limits?” Kirishima added casually, a small smile slowly creeping onto his face as he remembered how passionate the Prince was in there.

 

“Shut it, shitty hair, before I make you,” Bakugo threatened, still refusing to look behind to the bodyguard.

 

“I just think it’s fantastic that you learn self defence! It’s really manly, sir-“

 

Immediately, the young man in front of Kirishima stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. His eyes were a fierce, fiery red colour now. They pierced through the red head’s soul, making his own red eyes widen a little as Bakugo grabbed a fistful of the bodyguard’s shirt as he glared impatiently.

 

“You don’t get it, do you, bastard?” The pretentious Prince spat, his voice not really filled with clear rage, more like an irritated or impatient tone, “you don’t have to make conversation with me just because that old hag hired you to be my ‘emotional stability’. Stop trying, I didn’t ask for this.”

 

Kirishima looked at the other, his eyes still a little wide. He quickly glanced down to the pale fist that had balled up a bit of the fabric of his uniform, exhaling subtly before speaking up, “with all due respect, your highness-“

 

“Another thing, stop being so fuckin’ formal with me. That vocabulary doesn’t seem to match you whatsoever, it sounds so... forced... unnatural... patronising!” The Prince cut in harshly, “just call me Bakugo, shitty hair. If you call me anything else, I’ll kill you on the spot.”

 

“Uh, right, sorry, your- ah, Bakugo,” it felt so weird to Kirishima to call the Prince by that, “well, I just.. I’m not just trying to make conversation because I’m being paid to, I want to get to know you too! You seem really cool and manly! Everyone says how scary and mean you are, but I don’t think that’s true. I know it runs deeper than that! I want to be your friend! You’re kinda mysterious in a way.. like I gotta know more about you!” The bubbly, red eyed young man suddenly spurted out, much to both his and Bakugo’s surprise.

 

“Tch, just because I told you to quit the formalities, doesn’t give you the right to talk so fuckin’ freely to me! Just shut up already,” The Prince rolled his eyes, pushing the other back as he let go of his uniform and promptly turning around and storming off down the halls. This made Kirishima chuckle quietly to himself before following after the other.

 

*

 

‘ _To my bro, Kaminari! Dude! I have so much to tell you! I can’t text you, though, something to do with the security of the monarchy and kingdom.. I’ve missed you so much!! I hope everything is okay back at the house, sorry if it’s lonely without me ;(‘ -_ yes, Kirishima did draw out the emoticon in his letter to one of his only bros _\- ‘Prince Bakugo is super manly! I don’t think he likes me too much yet, but hopefully he’ll get used to me soon enough! Write me back when you can! ~ Kiri-bro_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ackkkkkkkkkkk!! Thank you for reading this chapter!
> 
> It might lowkey be trash and I mean so sorry for that úwù
> 
> I’m sorry it took sIX DAYS to update! School started so yk I have less time to write and I was demotivated :(
> 
> I hope you enjoyed anyway!
> 
> \- Salty


	6. Words of Advice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sero offers some advice, Kirishima and Bakugo have a little chat!

‘ _Dear Kiri, ugh dude I miss you so much too!! The house is so boring without you.. but I’ve let Ashido crash here for a bit since I can’t be trusted to look after the house by myself.. (she sends her love btw.) Stay safe, dude, and DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID!! Love from, your best bro, Kaminari :) P.S. I hope this is sent to the right address......._ ’

 

*

 

Every night, at 9:30pm, Kirishima is released of his duties due to the Prince sleeping awfully early - at around 8:30pm each night, or more specifically, 8:32pm. This allowed Bakugo to try to sleep for an hour, and if he couldn’t then he could just go talk to the red head that would be waiting outside his door. This meant that once 9:30pm rolled around, the blond haired man couldn’t bother Kirishima unless they were under attack.

 

It was 9:46pm and Prince Bakugo was wide awake, not for any particular reason apart from him not feeling tired. Everything was peaceful at this time, Kirishima couldn’t disturb Bakugo, Bakugo couldn’t disturb Kirishima; not that he really wanted to anyway. The blond laid down on his back, his red eyes staring at the decorated ceiling, he was quiet yet not in thought. It was as if his brain had shut down, nothing really occupied his mind.

 

However, the peace was disrupted by a soft knock at the door. Frowning, the Prince glanced over to the wooden door at the other end of the bedroom, who was that? It couldn’t have been the annoyingly (to Bakugo) talkative bodyguard, it was past his usual work hours.

 

Slowly, the Prince closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Maybe it was just his imagination, the absence of noise probably triggered his brain to create a noise to fill the quiet.

 

Alas, he was wrong as the young man heard another knock, accompanied by a whisper, “your highness? Are you awake, my Lord?” The voice was quiet and familiar.

 

‘ _Why is soy sauce fucking bothering me?_ ’ Bakugo thought to himself.

 

For a moment, the Prince considered ignoring the black haired advisor but decided against as he had gotten out of bed to shuffle grumpily to the door. His hand slowly placed itself onto the doorknob, the man turned it and pulled the door towards him. Sero’s eyes widened a little as he was greeted by the frowning blond. “Oh, I didn’t actually think you’d be awake..”

 

“Then why did you fucking ask?” Prince Bakugo scoffed, folding his arms as he stared at the other, “what do you want?”

 

“Ah, well, uh.. I know it’s currently passed my work hours and I’m not really allowed to- Er, advise you as your advisor.. but! Can I give you some advise as your..” The man on the other side of the Prince’s bedroom door paused as he thought of the correct word, “.. friend..?”

 

“I’m not your damn friend, bastard..” the blond snarled, “get to the point,” he ordered, a constant sneer on his face.

 

“Well, it’s about Kirishima.. you know, your new bodyguard?” Sero started, “well, I was just wondering if you could give him a bit more of a chance? He’s a really nice guy! I think he looks up to you, I’ve spoken to him a couple of times.. he’s told me that you seem really manly and inspiring..”

 

“Tch, whatever, are you done?”

 

“No, your highness.. Kirishima is cool, he admires you.. give him a bit of a chance to get to know you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll become friends?” Sero offered quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up - if anyone was asleep at 9:54pm.

 

“Yeah, right. As if I want to be friends with Hair for Brains..” Bakugo grimaced, “now leave before I make you.”

 

“.. fine.. but please just give him a chance!” The other sighed, hoping that the Prince would take his advice. However, the door to the blond’s room was shut before he received a verbal answer.

 

*

 

The next morning, Kirishima was stood outside of Prince Bakugo’s bedroom door by 7:45am. He was thankful that the blond slept early, because that meant that he got more sleep and more time to himself in the evenings. The red haired man let a quiet yawn slip from his mouth, he still had to get used to waking up early. No two client requirements were the same, back at the Todoroki castle, the cheerful bodyguard had to be outside of the Prince’s room by 8:15am (it was mainly because the young Todoroki didn’t really like greeting his family in the morning, especially his father, so he’d prolong his time getting ready.)

 

Usually in the morning, Kirishima would escort the blond haired Prince to the dining hall for breakfast - the red haired, young man would’ve eaten earlier. And as usual, Bakugo emerged from his bedroom in his normal everyday attire (which consisted of clothing far too expensive for the ruby eyed guard to even think about) at 7:55am. The bodyguard gave him a large smile that was stupidly bright, bright enough to blind someone if they stared at it for too long. “Good morning, sir! How did you sleep?” Kirishima asked enthusiastically, too enthusiastic for just before 8 in the morning.

 

“Jesus, could you be any louder?” The young blond groaned with a prominent scowl across his face, “I fuckin’ slept fine..” he snapped before pausing, as he remembered what Sero had advised yesterday, which made him cringe a little,“..what about you..?” He grumbled quietly.

 

Kirishima was taken aback a little, surprised by the question since Bakugo would never return the question. With a small, devious smirk creeping onto his face, the red haired man responded, “Hm? What was that, your highness? I didn’t quite catch that last part..”

 

“You fuckin’ heard me, Shitty Hair, otherwise you wouldn’t have had that stupid look on your face.”

 

The bodyguard let out a small chuckle as his face relaxed back into his regular smile, “oh, you noticed? Sorry for teasing you, your majesty.. I also slept well..” Kirishima explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Stop calling me that, bastard, what did I say yesterday?” The Prince snapped, messily stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets and he began to walk down the corridor to the dining hall.

 

“Right, I’m sorry, Bakugo..” the red spiky haired, young man corrected as he swiftly followed behind.

 

“Whatever.”

 

*

 

After a long breakfast with quiet chatter amongst the Queen and her husband, the blond haired Prince got up to leave. The bodyguard had been stood by one of the exits, whilst other guards were placed by the other doors. Kirishima smiled at Bakugo once he had turned and walked in his direction. However, the young Prince was told to stop by his mother. His red eyes, that were sharp enough to kill someone, darted back to the mahogany table where the Queen was sat.

 

“What?” Her son asked with a disinterested tone.

 

“I need a moment with you, Katsuki..” she replied simply, beckoning him to sit back down, “I need everyone to leave the room,” she then ordered, glancing at all of the guards including Kirishima. The red head nodded before quickly opening the door to leave, now waiting outside the room.

 

Once everyone had left, Prince Bakugo rolled his eyes, “what do you want?” He muttered, sitting down opposite the Queen.

 

“I just.. wanted to see how things were getting on with the new bodyguard,” she spoke truthfully, “do you like him? He seems quite nice.. and I have noticed that you’re a little.. well.. calmer..”

 

“Are you joking? That’s what you wanted to ask?” The young man scoffed with a scowl, “Shitty hair is whatever. I guess he’s not completely irritating, or ignorant. Though he’s too nice, it’s sickly,” he explained bluntly, another scoff escaping his lips.

 

“So you admit that you don’t mind him?”

 

“I never said that! He’s tolerable, that doesn’t mean I like his company. I wouldn’t care if you fired him!”

 

“Katsuki, you have got to be more open minded! From what I’ve seen he’s been kind to you, he’s making an effort to like you. For goodness sake, you can’t go around hating everyone you meet!” The Queen frowned, annoyed that he son was acting like this.

 

“Hah? And why not? I don’t need friends, you old hag!” The Prince spat, his flaming eyes now focused on the table.

 

“You’re going to be King one day, you need to have a good image! You need to be kind to your people! You need to show them that they can trust you..” she reasoned, though the other blond across from her wasn’t having it.

 

“They don’t needa kind King, they need a strong leader who knows how to run this hell of a kingdom! More people are going to try to attack this castle if they think that the king is some weak bastard..” Bakugo slammed his fist in the table as he abruptly stood, “stop telling me to be someone I’m not!”

 

“Katsuki sit down! This is important!” The Queen snapped, however, the arrogant Prince turned and stormed out of the room, through the door that Kirishima had been guarding on the other side.

 

The door swung violently open, whacking the wall on the side - luckily the side that the red haired man wasn’t standing on. His red eyes widened as they gazed upon the clearly angered Prince.

 

“My Lord..?” Kirishima offered with surprise.

 

“Shut it,” Bakugo growled dangerously, not sparing a look to his bodyguard as he walked down the hall.

 

The now-worried red head followed behind, “Bakugo what happ-“

 

“None of your business, shitty hair! Just leave me alone.”

 

Kirishima took a deep breath, maybe now wasn’t the best time to try to be friendly. Despite that, he spoke again, hoping that maybe it’ll convince the Prince to talk through his emotions with the man who was hired to be there for him, “did your mother say something to upset you..?”

 

“No shit, Sherlock..” the blond replied with a mutter, soon reaching his room as he was walking very quickly.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? Maybe I can help-“ Kirishima was unfortunately cut off again.

 

“Could you stop being so fucking nice for one goddamn second?”

 

“.. I’m sorry..?” The young man questioned, confused by the Prince’s request.

 

“You don’t have to do that, you know. I don’t even want you to be nice to me! It’s pointless. You might as well just stop..” Bakugo sneered as he entered his room, quickly glancing at the other before turning away.

 

Kirishima just looked at the other for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Hesitantly and slowly, the young man took a step inside the Prince’s room. It felt like taboo even just taking a look, let alone being inside of it. He opened his softer red eyes, keeping them on the explosive blond. The red haired man closed the door behind him before stepping in front of the other, their eyes meeting.

 

“Bakugo, you need to talk to me. This is my job, I’m here to support you and help you through things! Please, let me help,” he kept his voice soft as he offered a smile to the other, who looked like he wanted to rip his head off on the spot.

 

“Get out,” the Prince plainly responded, to which he received a timid shake of the head, “get out before I make you get out!” He tried again, raising his voice a little.

 

“What did the Queen say to upset you? I’m not here to judge you, or to report your secrets back to your mother. I’m here to help you,” Kirishima continued calmly, keeping eye contact with the other to show that he was serious.

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“Because.. I don’t want you to have to deal with things alone. Bottling things up doesn’t help, trust me, I know!” The young man explained, “please? Let me help, Bakugo..”

 

After a few seconds of complete silence between the too, the angered blond gave in with a grunt as he sat down on the edge of his bed. His head tilted downwards to face the carpeted floor.Bakugo let out a frustrated sigh, “that hag just.. she expects me to be someone I’m not.. she wants me to be a friendly king or some shit like that.. surely what’s more important is that I’m a good leader who can inspire those weakling subjects to be stronger. Not some pansy King who can’t protect himself.. even now that old lady hired a bodyguard for me, does she think I’m too weak or something?” The man ranted with a grumble at the end.

 

“I’m sure that’s not the reason.. I think she hired me because she cares about you! You may be strong enough to fight off people, but she wants me to be there to help.. she loves you, she doesn’t want you to get hurt..” Kirishima explained with a sympathetic smile, not that Bakugo saw it.

 

“Tch, yeah, right.. she just wants me to be like her..” The Prince rolled his eyes, lifting his head back up and turned it so he was looking at Kirishima, who was still stood up.

 

“Well.. sometimes parents don’t know what’s best.. I think if you explained to her.. a little.. calmer.. how you want to run the kingdom in the future, she’d understand better..” The man replied, sharing eye contact.

 

Bakugo didn’t have a response to that, he just thought internally for a bit. “... fine... I guess..” was all he could think of to say, glancing away again.

 

Kirishima shifted uncomfortably on the spot, trying to think of something else to say, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think you’ll be a great king! You’re so determined.. and I know that you’d mean well! I think you’ll motivate your people..”

 

The blond scoffed, “don’t you think I know that already? I’m gonna be the best king there’s ever been. I don’t need anyone by my side when I become king! And I definitely don’t need anyone to remind me that I’m gonna be great,” he announced, standing up to pace around his room with a menacing grin as the bodyguard mindlessly followed his movement with his eyes.

 

“That’s the spirit, Sir!” Kirishima grinned enthusiastically, punching the air supportively. ‘ _He’s so manly! So persevering!_ ’ The red head thought.

 

The explosive blond seemed a lot more motivated and pumped now, rather than angry or frustrated. The bodyguard was proud that he was able to help in some way.

 

As Kirishima walked to the door, he was suddenly stopped as he heard, “wait..”

 

He turned to look at Bakugo, who was looking back with his bold red eyes, “yes, Bakugo?”

 

“I just..” The Prince paused and sighed, “.. thank you, Kirishima.. for listening.. and helping..” he mumbled with embarrassment.

 

Kirishima’s eyes widened, not only did the Prince thank him, but he also used his name rather than ‘ _Shitty Hair_ ’!

 

“Oh! It’s no problem, Sir! I’m glad I could help,” he piped with a grin.

 

“Oi, if you tell anyone about any of this, I’ll kill you myself, got it?” The blond then threatened.

 

“Ah, yes, Sir, okay..!” Kirishima quickly replied before opening the door and leaving the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hEck this is my longest chapter lololol
> 
> Awwww Bakugo is slowly tolerating Kirishima moreeeeee!!  
> My boy is growing up lmao :”) 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> \- Salty


	7. Training.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Bakugo decides to train with his bodyguard.

‘Kaminari, ahhhh send Ashido my love back! :D I think Prince Bakugo is starting to get used to me? Tolerate me? I bet we’re gonna be best friends! Well, I hope so, or kinda friends at least! I’ve told you this before, but Prince Bakugo is really manly! He’s super muscular as well, did you know that he works out? He has his own personal trainer and everything! Oh, and also, there’s a man who works here who I think you’d really like! His name is Sero Hanta, he’s very nice and really easy to talk to. He’d fit in perfectly with our group! Maybe if he gets any holiday days, I could introduce him to you and Ashido? Anyways, I better get going! I promise not to do anything (too) stupid ;D Love from your bro, Kirishima.’

*

The next few weeks were interesting, to say the least. Neither Kirishima nor Bakugo addressed the conversation the two had about the Queen’s ideal image for her blond haired, explosive son. The Prince hadn’t seemed to change too much around his bodyguard, either. Though, it didn’t bother the red head too much as he did expect it. He knew that it’d take time with Prince Bakugo. That didn’t damper the enthusiastic young man’s determination to become best bros with the blond! Or be able to talk more freely with him, at least.

Kirishima continued to talk to Bakugo as they’d walk through the large halls that slowly became more familiar to the bodyguard, he could probably navigate to every section of the castle without getting lost. Gradually, the spiky blond would give responses more often, though they were short replies - sometimes one word - and quite reluctantly said.

It would usually be common getting-to-know questions that Kirishima would ask, like ‘what’s your favourite colour’ and ‘if you could be an animal, what would it be’. The Prince’s responses were ‘tch, orange I guess’ and ‘a fucking lion or some other badass animal that could rip you to pieces’. Other times, the red haired man asked more personal questions, or one’s that required a longer reply, which the Prince wouldn’t answer to, claiming them to be none of his fucking business.

One day, after a few weeks at the palace, Bakugo finally let Kirishima watch his combat training with Aizawa. This made the bubbly man excited and very thankful as he had wanted to watch the blind’s training ever since he found out that he took self-defence classes (of course he never mentioned that one time where he watched through the slightly cracked open door). This was progress in Kirishima’s eyes, which made him quite proud of himself.

On the way to the training room, the enthusiastic bodyguard kept quiet, for some odd reason he was excited to watch the blond train. Perhaps it’s because he found the explosive Prince really manly when he was training! To Kirishima, ‘manliness’ was a good trait to have and the red eyed man found value in it. Kirishima didn’t believe that manliness was measured by strength alone; bravery and determination were also active parts of being manly. 

Bakugo, by far, was the manliest person the bodyguard had ever met. The way he’s persevered through life and living it how he wanted to with a mother like his, someone who wanted to project a different image upon him; the way he stays true to himself and his morals, without letting others’ opinions persuading him to change. The explosive young man definitely has a thick skin and clearly refuses to let anyone break it down, even if the bodyguard was very slowly chipping away at it (with little yet some progress).

“You’re fucking quiet for once..” the Prince finally muttered out sourly.  
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Sir!” The young man responded quickly as he snapped back to reality from whatever his mind had drifted to.  
“I still have a fucking name, Shitty Hair.”  
“Ah, yes, sorry, Bakugo!” Kirishima corrected, earning a grunt.  
“Are you too stupid to remember that I told you to stop calling me ‘sir’ or ‘your highness’ or shit?” The blond provoked with a scoff.  
“No, I just feel weird calling you by your last name, that’s all..” the bodyguard explained sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he followed close behind the other.

The halls seemed pretty empty, which wasn’t unusual but it felt different to Kirishima this time. Perhaps it’s because Bakugo started the conversation for once, rather than waiting for the bodyguard to speak first. 

The only sound that could be heard as they walked promptly down the halls was the footsteps of the Prince and the other young man and the very quiet, constant grumble that the blond emitted from under his breath. It was a sound that the soft, red eyed man was used to; if he couldn’t hear that ceaseless grunt, then something was wrong or something had made the Prince so pissed off that words couldn’t describe what he was feeling. It was a fairly rare occasion, that had only happened once or twice in the time that Kirishima had worked for Bakugo. 

“Well? Care to explain why you’re so fucking quiet?” The Prince spoke up once again, as if he had been waiting for Kirishima to continue talking, only to find out that he wasn’t going to.  
“I was just- uh.. thinking..” Kirishima responded a little timidly, not wanting to admit what it was that he was thinking about.  
“Well can’t you think aloud then? I’m not used to your annoying voice shutting up for once, it’s weird if you don’t say anything,” Bakugo snapped bluntly, making the bodyguard raise an eyebrow as a smile for,ed on his face.  
“You.. you want me to talk to you?” He asked excitedly.  
“Hah? No! Just talk to yourself! I’m just so used to your obnoxious voice that if I can’t hear it, then I feel uncomfortable!” The Prince argued aggressively, though he was only making Kirishima’s bright grin widen as he continued to talk.  
“Awh Bakugo! I knew I’d get through to you one day!”  
“Fuck off, Shitty Hair!”

Soon enough, the two reached the training hall and were once again met with Aizawa’s tired expression as he gestured the explosive man inside.

“Shitty hair is spectating today,” the blond informed with his usual scowl as he walked inside the room.

As the red haired bodyguard stepped inside, he gazed in awe at the new room. It was how he pictured it, a large room with a tall ceiling, obstacles scattered around on the floor and a huge mat in the centre - supposedly where most of Bakugo’s training took place.

The door shut behind the three with an echoed sound bouncing off of the sides and obstacles. The Prince and his teacher headed straight for the main mat as Kirishima stood at the side, waiting for the two to start.

“Remember, your highness,” Aizawa began, “your enemies won’t wait for you to make the first move and definitely won’t wait for you to be ready to fight-“  
“Yeah I know old man, you don’t have to-“ Bakugo was cut off as the black haired trainer lunged towards him, causing the blond to slide to his right and turn to look at Aizawa - who had his momentum carry him past the younger man.

Bakugo’s eyes were locked onto his teacher’s movements, allowing himself to charge to his opponent and attack with his go-to first attack - a right hook. Of course, Aizawa knew that this would be his first attack as it was always how the Prince would start; he was able to dodge and get the upper hand on his student. However, Bakugo was stubborn, he’d never give up on anything due to his competitive attitude and the need to be the best. 

Kirishima knew this, so he wasn’t too surprised to see the fiery eyed Prince continue to fight, even if it was clear that the trainer was winning. The bodyguard watched with admiration spread across his smiling face. ‘Bakugo is so cool! So manly!’ The young man thought internally as his eyes followed the blond. 

And as if the Prince had been hit with a luck spell, Aizawa ended up stumbling over his feet which gave Bakugo the perfect opportunity to take the win as he kicked his teacher to the floor. With a triumphant smirk and huff, the arrogant victor glanced over and connected his eyes with the other pair of bright red eyes that were trained on him from the other side of the room. Kirishima grinned widely and began to clap, “wooo! Hell yeah, sir! That was awesome! So manly!”

“Tch, it was nothing..” he simply responded, his head turning back to look at his trainer - who dusted himself off as he stood back up.  
“Your technique is sloppy and too impulsive,” Aizawa merely commented, “try again, fix your sore winner attitude and focus.”

Kirishima found Aizawa’s advice quite harsh, causing him to frown a little. Sure, the blond has a much more spontaneous technique, but it’s not a bad technique! The bodyguard said nothing aloud and simply just watched.

“You’re only saying that because you lost, old man! I’ll beat you again, shall I? I was just getting warmed up!” The Prince grunted as he ran towards his teacher once again.

This time, their round of fighting lasted longer, Aizawa focusing on defence so he could make comments on Bakugo’s footwork or swings as he attacked. The blond was getting more and more agitated, which made his movements sloppier and less coordinated.

Aizawa stopped their fight, the blond’s movement were getting far too messy for the trainer.

“Your highness, I need to get a clearer look at your technique, I can’t do that if I’m fighting as I also have to focus on my own movements. Hey, Kirishima, come over here,” the trainer beckoned the bodyguard intimidatingly, which made the red haired man quickly do as he was told and jogged up to the mat.  
“There’s no way that I’m fighting Shitty Hair,” Bakugo scoffed.  
“Why not?”  
“Because you should be able to watch my technique and fight me at the same time!”  
“You’ve seen my attacks before, so it’ll be refreshing for your progress for you to fight someone who you haven’t fought before. This will benefit you.”  
“Tch, whatever, you just don’t want to get beaten by me again..” the Prince scoffed, turning to Kirishima, who didn’t have a say in the matter.

Looking at the other two confusingly, the spiky haired bodyguard stepped opposite the fiery eyed Bakugo Katsuki. Of course, he didn’t want to hurt the other, but he wasn’t prepared to go easy on him either. This was to benefit the Prince. On the other hand, the blond didn’t appear too merciful. He didn’t look like he cared whether he harmed the red head or not.

Without warning, Bakugo charged towards Kirishima and decided to strike from above. His opponent clearly saw, quickly putting his arm up to block the attack. The bodyguard’s arms were protected by his under armour, which thankfully had extra padding. The explosive Prince continued to attack and push the other backwards, letting out grunts at every hit. The bodyguard kept his arms up to act as his shield. He made sure he was balanced firmly so that Bakugo couldn’t trip him up. 

One hit, two hits, three hits, Kirishima suddenly slid to the side - causing Bakugou to follow through and stumble. This gave the bodyguard the perfect opportunity to attack from behind. The boisterous young man elbowed in between the Prince’s shoulder blade whilst simultaneously hitting the back of his knees, making the blond fall to the floor. Kirishima watched as Bakugo twisted himself around so that he was facing the bodyguard, but before the Prince could leap to his feet, he felt the weight of the other now on top of him. The red haired man had practically straddled the blond’s stomach, as if he was a large dog, and then quickly pinned down one of Bakugo’s wrists and pressed his other hand against his shoulder to prevent movement from his upper body. 

The fiery red eyes of the Prince widened slightly as he looked up at Kirishima, who had a small victory smirk forming across his face. There was no way in hell that he’d lose that easily against the other red eyed man. Bakugo tried to struggle against Kirishima’s hands, which were firm against his wrist and shoulder. It was no use, with the bodyguard’s concentration, he wouldn’t be able to free himself. His mind was coming up with a few options, though most hypothetical scenario he thought of seemed useless against this grip. Just then, an idea popped into the blond’s head. It was definitely an idea that wouldn’t be considered fighting “fair”.

Bakugo reciprocated Kirishima’s smirk before spitting in his face. This caught the young man straddling him off guard, which allowed the Prince to escape from the other’s trap - thanks to his core and upper strength, he could successfully shove Kirishima off of him.

“Ha! Thought you could defeat me that easily?” The blond taunted as he got to his feet, glancing down to the other.  
“No sir, of course I didn’t. You’re really skilled in combat! I just wanted to see what you’d do..” the red head responded as he stood up and wiped the spit from his cheek, “that was a really unexpected move! Unconventional! Nice one, your highness!”  
“Whatever, just fight!”

The pair continued their combat, and contrary to Aizawa’s statement of the Prince’s attacks being sloppy, they battled almost gracefully; as if their fight was choreographed. Their movements flowed into each other, though it was definitely more violent. Kirishima noticed that Bakugo’s attacks were quite brutal, he really fought with no remorse. It truly amazed the bodyguard that he had that ambition and passion whilst striking.

After a few minutes of frustrated combat from both red eyed young men, Kirishima finally gave in to the Prince (knowing that the blond was in charge of him, so it’d be better if he let him win). He had never met anyone, in his career, that had been as strong or as skilled as he in combat. They had ended up in quite an odd position, Kirishima was lying on his back, head tilted to the side, with Bakugo pressing down his hand on the other’s cheek so he couldn’t move his head. The Prince was also stepping on one of the red haired man’s arms whilst holding down the other. All the bodyguard could do was smile widely and laugh, which confused the prickly blond.

“What?” He huffed with a frown, panting.  
“Oh, it’s nothing, my Lord! It’s just I’m impressed by you! You’re so manly, congrats on winning!” Kirishima responded with a muffled voice as his head was pressed into the ground.  
“Get off of your opponent, Bakugo,” Aizawa said as he walked over to the pair, the Prince still dazed and confused by the bodyguard’s oddly bright smile and laughter.

Soon enough, he got up and brushed himself off before holding out a hand for the young man who was still on the ground. Kirishima looked up at the Prince’s face then glancing to his hand and firmly took it, standing up swiftly.

“Thank you, sir.. hey, we should train together more often! That was fun!” The enthusiastic bodyguard said cheerfully. It was true, he didn’t find it fun to train with the blond, even if he did spit in his face. He didn’t care, it was a good tactic.   
“Tch, whatever, I guess..” the Prince rolled his eyes before looking at Aizawa, “that’s enough for now, I might come back later but it depends..”  
The trainer nodded his head, “alright, just go take a shower.. and remember to fix your footwork next time. Your fighting style is just pretentious and cocky, we’ll work on it.”  
“Hah? What did you say, bastard? My fighting style is just fine!” Bakugo huffed, taking a step towards Aizawa before being suspended from getting any closer by Kirishima’s arm.  
“Sir, it’s not worth it,” he said calmly, the blond twisting his head to glare at the bodyguard. 

The young Prince just scoffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets and heading towards the door with Kirishima following close behind. Once they got out of the room, Bakugo subtly shifted his head so that he was glancing over his shoulder to the bodyguard. His eyes looked as fierce and sharp as ever whilst they trained onto Kirishima’s softer ones. 

“Sir? Are you okay..?”   
At first, the young man didn’t get a response from the pretentious blond, but a few seconds later he then received, “I’m sorry.. for spitting at you earlier..” he murmured, swallowing his pride for a moment.  
Kirishima just smiled gently and admirably, “there’s no need to apologi-“  
“Don’t give me that crap, you didn’t deserve it. Okay? I’m sorry,” Bakugo growled before turning back around as they continued to walk down the halls.  
“Okay. Thank you for apologising, Bakugo..”

Once they reached the door to the Prince’s room, Kirishima gave his boss one final grin before the door was closed on him. The bodyguard chuckled quietly and stood to the side of the frame, his mind was thinking back to his fight with Bakugo. He was damn good, almost like he didn’t even need a bodyguard to protect him. That made Kirishima’s job a lot easier. His mind continued to wander until he remembered something from the fight. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realisation.

Did he.. straddle the Prince?

Never in his life, did he ever think he’d be in that situation. A small blush of embarrassment dusted on his face; even if it was in a combat environment, he still cringed at the image. Kirishima could’ve kept Bakugo down without having to sit on his stomach, he just really hoped that the blond overlooked that takedown.

The red haired man just sighed, shaking the thought out of his head. ‘It doesn’t matter, it didn’t mean anything, nor should it,’ he said to himself internally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow! This is my longest chapter loool.
> 
> I’m sorry for my sudden disappearance omg :0  
> I hope this chapter is good enough as an apology <3
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter  
> \- Salty


	8. Town (1/2).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugo wants to explore the town, but he needs Kirishima’s guidance! (Part 1 of 2)

‘Kirishima - dude it’s been like 6 months since you were home! How long do you think you’re gonna beeee?? Is your friendly magic working yet? Are you finally getting through to Prince Bakugo? Send me updates! From your loving bro, Kami :)’

*

Yes it was true, it had been months since Kirishima’s arrival to Castle Bakugo; and yes, there had been some improvement in his relationship with the stubborn Prince, even if it was small improvements and a slow process. By this point in the bodyguard’s career, he was able to achieve more casual conversation down the corridors with the blond (even if it was a short lasted conversation with only a few sentences traded), and frequent sparring sessions with him too. Of course his natural attitude and pretentiousness continued as normal, not that the other minded.  
The red head had become rather fond of the naturally explosive character, finding him mysterious yet fascinating. He acted as though he didn’t care about anyone or anything, though Kirishima wasn’t convinced by that act that was on display. Deep down, he knew that Bakugo had a heart, deep down he believed that the other man had a soft side; though it was possibly shown in an odd way. The bodyguard’s plan was to build up his trust so that he would be let into the blond’s other side. He was hired to help him open up emotionally, and have a friend - even if it wasn’t for long. So that’s exactly what the red head was going to do.  
As Kirishima waited outside the closed door of the Prince’s secluded room in the early morning, expecting the plan for today to be the same as always; breakfast, training, lunch, any princely duties Bakugo had been given, dinner, bed. Despite this assumption, the blond never emerged from his bedroom and the bodyguard began to worry. Would it be weird to check on him? Maybe if Kirishima knocked first..  
The young man standing by the door hesitantly brought his hard knuckles up to the wood, carefully tapping against it.

“Sir..? Are you awake? Are you okay..?” Kirishima quietly uttered, his nose almost touching the door.  
No answer.  
The bodyguard took a deep breath, “I’m coming in..!” He piped before his hand reached for the doorknob. Holding his breath, the soft eyed man opened the door to the Prince’s chamber and instantly glanced around to look for him.  
His eyes had trailed over to the familiar blond haired man, who was stood in front of his full body mirror, appearing to be.. trying on clothes?  
The fierce red eyes of the eruptive Bakugo Katsuki slowly gazed over to Kirishima, expression changing as quick as lightning from confused and shocked to irritated. His body turned towards the bodyguard, allowing the other to get a better look of what the Prince was trying on. He appeared to be trying on a white button up shirt with suspenders, brown trousers and black loafers. Definitely a different look to what Kirishima was used to seeing the blond wearing.

“Uh.. Bakugo..? What are you-“  
“I’m trying to look more like a.. commoner..” the Prince quickly explained, adjusting the fabric suspenders that looked like they fit quite nicely on his torso.

Kirishima didn’t know if he should be offended or not.

“First of all, that’s not what I’d consider a ‘common’ style, you look like you’re about to board the Titanic in the 1900s! Second, why?” The bodyguard’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the Prince, who had begun to roll up his sleeves to his elbows and was showing off his veiny and muscular forearms.  
“We’re going to visit the town today.. I want to see what it’s like, or fuckin’ whatever.. but I obviously need a disguise so people don’t realise that I’m royalty. That means you need to change too, Shitty Hair! I don’t want you to blow my fucking cover!”  
Kirishima’s eyes widened simultaneously to his mouth turning upwards to a smile, “Wait, we’re going to town?” He then asked excitedly.  
“What, are you deaf or something? That’s what I fucking said, isn’t it?” Bakugo grunted, glaring whilst he stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets.  
“Can I show you all the best places? I mean, I know the cafés and the clothes shops won’t be able to compare to the castle’s supply, but they’re still pretty good! Maybe we could buy you a more modern casual outfit! Oh and maybe we could..” the bodyguard continued to ramble to himself, Bakugo just rolled his eyes and tuned him out as he headed towards the door of his room.  
“Get changed now, I’m going to get something to eat..” the blond said nonchalantly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way down the hall.

Kirishima continued to smile to himself as he skipped to his own room. To say the bodyguard was excited about the trip was an understatement. The red haired, red eyed man hadn’t been to town since he had worked for Prince Bakugo Katsuki, and had only really been off of the castle grounds once or twice when he had to accompany the royal family to special events. Kirishima would be able to see and talk to normal people, rather than the Prince, the staff and other guards.  
He took a deep breath and dove into his wardrobe, which was mainly filled with black under armour, black shirts and black trousers - due to his uniform code. However, he had a couple of his shirts from home and a few pairs of jeans and shorts. Quickly, Kirishima took off his armour, placing it neatly on his duvet, which was juxtaposed by the messiness of his bed. Then, he grabbed one of his red shirts, which had ‘D.J’ written in black, he also took his grey shorts and his trademarked red crocs. With that, he was transformed from a highly trained bodyguard for the explosive Bakugo Katsuki to an average young man who worked a normal job in a normal business.  
Swiftly, he closed his wardrobe, adjusted his clothing and headed out to the dining hall. He received a couple of odd looks from the other staff, though the red head wasn’t stopped for interrogation. Then, his red eyes landed on a pair of familiar black ones. The bodyguard began to smile when the man who Bakugo calls ‘soy sauce’ crossed his path.  
“Sero? Hey bro!” Kirishima grinned with his abnormally sharp teeth, which were referred to as ‘shark teeth’ by Kaminari.  
“Hey Kiri,” the black haired advisor began happily, “how’s things going with the Prince?”  
“They’re going great!- I think.. well.. we seem to be getting along?”  
“Really? Damn, you are good! I was told that you were good at your job.. but I’ll admit, that’s really impressive..” Sero was taken aback by Kirishima’s success.  
“Awh, thanks, man! I’m only doing my job.. I enjoy spending time with him anyways!”  
“That’s a plus then,” the man smiled, “I heard that you two are going to visit town?”  
“Yep! I’m super excited, it feels like I’ve lived here forever! I gotta visit the.. well.. ‘common’ areas, heh..” Kirishima scratched the back of his head, not really sure how to word it, “anyways, I gotta get going! The Prince wants me down in the dining hall. I’ll see you around, bro!”  
“Bye, Kiri. Have fun today!” The black haired man responded with a subtle chuckle before continuing his way down the corridor.

Soon, the red haired man made it into the dining hall and saw the blonde haired Prince finishing off his breakfast. He must’ve been quite eager to go to town, considering how quickly he would’ve had to wolf down his food. Then again, it was Bakugo. He didn’t do anything half-arsed.  
“‘Bout fuckin’ time..” the Prince snarled, pushing the plate away from him whilst he stood up, after finishing what was in his mouth.  
“Ah, sorry, Sir! I was talking to Sero-“  
“You were wasting time, huh? What, do you not want to go into town or something? I can easily go on my own, you know,” the blonde grunted, stuffing his hands into his pockets and heading towards the exit.  
“I’m sorry! It won’t happen again!”  
“Tch, it better fuckin’ not.”

The two swiftly headed for one of the smaller, more secluded exits that the castle had, so that the explosive man could take a quieter route to town. There were a couple of guards protecting the door, they asked Bakugo if he was okay with just Kirishima accompanying him - and of course they received a harsh response, something along the lines of “I can fucking handle myself, you bastards.”  
The red head quickly apologised and followed the Prince.

Once they were let through the door, the blonde slowed down a little so that he was walking beside his bodyguard, though he didn’t think much of it and explained to Kirishima, “this is only so we blend better.. if you walk behind me the whole time, it’ll look fucking weird..”  
The more excited man nodded and smiled in understanding, “wait, does this mean I can treat you like my bro?”  
“What? No. Don’t give yourself an excuse to get close with me! I’m still your superior!”  
“Wahh, harsh! Look, if I talk to you like I would with my best bro, then we’ll look and act more like ordinary guys!” Kirishima reasoned, secretly hoping that he’d be able to get to know the young Prince better.  
Bakugo hesitated before speaking, thinking about what to say, “.. fine, just don’t make it weird! Or I’ll take you down, got it?”  
Kirishima grinned and punched the air as they walked down the hidden path, “Yeah, man! I get it! Can I call you man? What about bro?- wait, I got it: Baku-bro!”  
The Prince groaned and rolled his eyes, “don’t fucking call me ‘Baku-bro’..”  
“Nope, you cant tell me what to do! You’re now Baku-bro,” the red haired man teased, chuckling as he heard the blond grunt in irritation.

The two continued to walk down the path, which was a lot more extravagant than the red haired man originally thought. It was secured by trees that stretched high into the skies, reaching for the sun. They seemed never-ending. It was a little intimidating, but when wasn’t the Bakugo Castle intimidating? As well as the trees covering the secret pathway, there was a high fence surrounding it; it looked almost as if they were zoo animals. Aside from that, the hidden passage was quite a nice walk, though long. Kirishima wouldn’t have been surprised if the Bakugo family had set up private and secluded paths to other parts of the city.

“You’re quiet again,” Bakugo muttered in his usual, gruff voice, which once again made the other snap out of his admiration and wonder.  
“Huh? Oh, sorry, bro!”  
The blond scoffed and then paused before speaking again, “what were you thinking about..?” He murmured quietly, so it was practically inaudible.  
“.. huh? What was that?” Kirishima asked, raising an eyebrow and turning his head to the Prince. It was still odd to him seeing the explosive one dressed like that, though he didn’t look bad to Kirishima! If anything, he thought it looked good on him, even if it wasn’t necessarily ‘common’ clothes.  
“I said what’re fuckin’ thinking about? Get your hearing checked, Shitty Hair!” Bakugo growled with a raspy voice.  
“Oh, sorry, Bakugo! I was just thinking about these.. Uh.. hidden passages? Do they lead all over the kingdom?”  
“What kind of stupid question is that? No they don’t, they lead to different pickup points where my chauffeurs drive me to other places. This one leads straight to the main town, I think, I’ve never been down it myself, but other guards have tested it.. it should be fuckin’ safe or whatever.”  
“Wait.. so most of these secret paths don’t even lead to the main destination? Isn’t that a little.. much? Walking down these just to get to your chauffeur?”  
“If you’re already tired, maybe you shouldn’t be a bodyguard, Shitty Hair,” Bakugo snapped, digging his hands into the pockets of his trousers, “surely it’s worth the walk, seeing as I hardly leave the castle and explore the outside world..”  
Kirishima’s eyes widened a little, “oh, I guess I didn’t think of it that way! Sorry bro! I’m not tired anyway, I bet I can run the rest of this path without stopping!” He smirked competitively.  
The blond’s eyes locked onto the other pair of red eyes, his quickly sharpening as he mimicked his bodyguard’s smirk, “well I know that I can run it faster than you without stopping!” He challenged further.  
“You wish, bro!” Kirishima yelled out before kicking off to a sprinting start, getting advantage of the Prince immediately.

Bakugo’s eyes tracked the red haired man’s movements as he quickly bolted in order to catch up to the other, which he had succeeded in quite quickly. The two were neck and neck, practically fighting for the space on the neatly marked path. The pair were panting, clearly both using their stamina up too quickly, but that didn’t stop either of them. The young Prince kept a determined smile and threaded eyebrows as he dashed beside Kirishima, who admired the aspirational look across the other’s face. His strong will to win was so manly! And that wasn’t going to stop the red head, if anything that motivated him more to match his level.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, bro!” The determined bodyguard called out as he picked up his pace and pushed himself to the max, surpassing Bakugo.  
“Hah?! Get back here, Shitty Hair!” The blonde yelled out, ambition and frustration bleeding in his voice.

The Prince was able to pass Kirishima within a matter of seconds, which both amazed the flaming red head and confused him. How was he so good at everything? The bodyguard suddenly felt a smile creep onto his face, as he stared at the blonde race ahead. 

Bakugo and Kirishima came to a stop once they reached the end of the path, the two men panting and sweating at their little competition. The arrogant young Prince let out a triumphant huff and turned his head slightly towards the other with a winning smirk, causing the red eyes of Kirishima to widen a little, a bit of redness coming to his cheeks.  
‘Must’ve been caused by the running,’ the bodyguard thought to himself. The two pairs of red eyes suddenly snapped up to what was in front of them, a tall fence with a gate and a hedge on the other side.

“So I’m assuming the hedge is supposed to hide the gate from the public right?”Kirishima queried, earning himself a nod from the blond Prince.  
“Obviously.”

Bakugo took out a large key hanging on some string from around his neck, placing it into the lock which kept the gate secure and turned it. A clicking sound could be heard as the lock was undone and the gate slowly swung open. Kirishima took that as a signal to head out and make his way through the wall of leaves and small branches. Once he made it out onto the other side, his eyes darted around so he could familiarise himself with the area.

“Wait a minute.. this is..” the red head stopped, his eyes drastically darting left and right until they landed on a building just opposite of the hidden passage, “right outside the gym that I used to go to!” He exclaimed in disbelief as he looked back at Bakugo, who had just exited the hedge and had to run his hand through his hair to get rid of a couple of leaves which were tangled in it.  
“Oh..?” The blond questioned as he looked across the street to see a row of treadmills through the front window of the building. 

The stubborn Prince began to cross the road without precaution and suddenly a loud skidding noise emitted, causing the blond to quickly turn his head to the side to see that a red car had stopped right before him. The driver looked shocked and terrified, but that expression soon changed to anger once he had realised that he hadn’t hit the young man crossing the street. The two immediately began shouting at one another, the man in the car promptly getting out of the car to step towards Bakugo.

“What the fuck, man?! Do you have a fucking death wish?” The driver spat furiously, “watch where you’re going next time, prick!”  
“Hey, fuck you! You should’ve been paying attention! And why were you driving so fucking fast anyway, bastard?” The arrogant Prince attacked defensively.  
Kirishima swiftly intervened after almost experiencing a heart attack, “Baku- uh! Are you okay?” The red head called horrifically as he rushed over to the blond, putting himself in between the man and the Prince. He had almost blown their cover, luckily he stopped halfway through Bakugo’s name.  
“What? I’m fucking fine!” He snarled at the other, still riled up from almost being hit.  
Kirishima then turned to the driver, “I’m so sorry..! Are you okay? You didn’t get whiplash, did you?” The bodyguard asked with a concerned look across his face as he looked at the stranger, before then turning back to Bakugo, “please apologise..”  
“Hah?! No fucking way! He almost killed me!”  
“Because you weren’t looking where you were going, apologise!” The red head snapped back at the pretentious young man, “now.”  
Bakugo had never been bossed around by Kirishima before, which caught him off guard, however he reluctantly obliged, “sorry, or whatever..” he grumbled at the driver, folding his arms, “Sorry for scaring the shit out of you..”  
“.. it’s fine, I’m sorry for driving too quickly.. you’re just lucky you have this kind man as your boyfriend or whatever he is to you to tolerate you.. now get out of the road..” the driver huffed in annoyance, getting back into his car.

Kirishima’s cheeks grew red again, so did Bakugo’s. The two quickly got back onto the pavement, averting each other’s gaze. That inaccurate comment the man made embarrassed the pair, making the air between them thick in awkwardness. They walked beside each other in silence for a little bit, the red head’s mind was racing whereas the blond’s was blank; both were completely baffled. Why were they? It didn’t matter if they were mistaken to be boyfriends! Right?

Kirishima cleared his throat loudly, to break the awkward silence, “so- uh, what do you want to see first?” He asked with a nervous laugh, glancing over at the blond man beside him.  
“Hm.. Are there any good clothes shops?” Bakugo responded quietly, his eyes plastered onto the pavement floor as he scuffed his feet against the concrete and stuffed his hands into his pockets.  
The red head thought for a moment, hey, I think I know a good one! It’s not too far, come on, this way!” He announced, and without thinking, grabbed the other’s wrist and pulled him along eagerly, forgetting all about the near death experience his boss almost faced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh I’m so sorry for the really slow update! (Literally 2 months apart from the last, oh my goOdness).  
> School’s been hecking busy :::///  
> I’ll try to get the next party out quicker! Once again, I am so sorry!!!
> 
> \- Salty


	9. Town (2/2).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Bakugo and Kirishima explore the town, and the bodyguard opens up about something!

‘Dude I miss you so muuuuuch! :( I’m having a great time here though, I hope everything is going okay at home. Prince Bakugo is so cool, and he’s opening up a little more! It’s great! I don’t know when I’ll be home, the Prince is quite.. stubborn.. the progress is very slow..  
Love you, bro! Kirishima.’

*

Bakugo almost immediately retrieved his wrist from Kirishima’s grasp, “don’t fuckin’ drag me,” He snarled bitterly, the arrogant Prince was feel quite embarrassed from almost getting run over, which made him defensive and more snappy. 

He didn’t like being in the wrong, which deep down he knew he was in.

“Ah, sorry, bro! I just got.. excited? I haven’t really left the castle for half a year! It’s just nice to see ‘common’ buildings and people again, you know?” The red head explained sheepishly, quickly bowing as a sign of an apology.  
“.. it’s fine,” the blond begrudgingly began, “I.. uh.. want to apologise again for earlier, but if you fucking mention it to anyone I will-“  
“Yeah, I get it, I get it!” Kirishima laughed, “you’ll kick my face in or something, dude don’t worry, I won’t talk about it!” He exclaimed, having lived with the other for quite some time, he could predict what kinds of things Bakugo could’ve said in that moment. The stubborn Prince huffed, crossing his arms as he followed the other reluctantly.

After a couple minutes of walking, Kirishima stopped in front of a petit, quaint shop. It had a subtle sign above the entrance, which read ‘Jean’s Best’ with contact details just below. The shop also had two large windows either side of a gleaming, red door, which displayed a couple of mannequins showing off the fashion sold in the shop. 

The red head smiled as the familiarity flooded through him whilst gazing upon the store; he would often walk past the glistening red door when he used to shop with his best bro, Kaminari, but hardly went inside. The red eyed man had always wished to be able to afford clothing from ‘Jean’s Best’, though he couldn’t. And whenever he had earned enough money to buy from this store, Kirishima would chicken out and just spend his money on useful things - like kitchen utensils or lightbulbs, or other mundane, everyday items.

“Well, this is it!” The bodyguard exclaimed proudly, glancing over to Bakugo - who was clearly a little unimpressed, “I know it’s not anything fancy, like your father’s clothing line, but it’s still a good quality shop.. I- uh guess..” he continued before quickly opening the door to let the blond inside.  
The Prince walked inside snobbishly, keeping his chin up, “as long as it makes me look less royal, I don’t care..” he muttered to himself, unfolding his arms and taking a quick look around him.

The shop appeared much more modern on the inside compared to the outside, and far bigger too. Kirishima stood in awe as he gazed upon the racks of the apparel. Yes, he wasn’t really one for fashion, but he treasured the thought of owning at least one item that he could picture a model wearing.

“Bro let me pick you out an outfit so you can.. uh.. blend in,” the spiky red head suggested as his matching red eyes wandered along the various jeans, sweatshirts and shoes.  
“What? No way, your fashion sense is probably shit,” Bakugo huffed, rolling his sharp, harsh eyes.  
“Well, yeah, but at least I know what us ‘commoners’ wear,” Kirishima debated, looking hopefully at the other.  
After a couple of moments of silence, the blond grunted and gave in, “fine, but if I don’t like what you’ve chosen, I won’t buy it. I don’t want you to make me look like an idiot.”  
Kirishima saluted, “you got it, bro!” He said happily before skipping off into the closest isle.

As the chirpy red head vanished, Bakugo felt a bit lost, so he decided to browse as he waited. He had to admit, the stock wasn’t as bad as he first assumed, the clothes on offer were quite fashionable. Of course, he’d never tell Kirishima that.

Suddenly, the explosive young man heard a couple of girls whispering in close proximity, making him swiftly turn his head to see what they were whispering about. He noticed one of them looking at him, causing him to glare at her. 

“What?” Bakugo snapped tensely, which made the girls shut up.  
“Ah! Oh, er, we just thought that you’re cute- uh, attractive, I mean! Sorry,” one of them hesitantly responded awkwardly, scratching her neck as she averted her gaze.  
“Next time, fucking tell that to my face,” he responded rudely, rolling his eyes and stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
“Hey, Baku-bro! I picked out some things! I didn’t know what your size is, so I just got some smalls and mediums-“ Kirishima began before looking at the two girls by the Prince. 

Almost immediately, the red eyes of the bodyguard widened as he stared at one of the girls, who had pink, curly hair. He dropped the clothes he had in his arms  
and immediately pressed a hug into the girl, “Mina?” He questioned with excitement.  
“Woah, Kiri?” She responded, wrapping her arms around the man’s neck, “Dude! How’ve you been?” The girl exclaimed excitedly, the other girl who accompanied her had wandered off to look around at more clothing.  
“Ah, I’ve been great! What about you? What about Kaminari? Wait- is Kami in town right now?” Kirishima fired various questions at the clearly familiar girl.  
“Oh, no he’s at home, Kami is feeling ill so I’m doing some shopping for him,” Mina explained, separating her arms from Kirishima.  
“.. oh.. okay..” the red head responded with disappointment but quickly added, “I’m sure he’ll be alright soon, he’s strong! I know he can overcome it!”  
“Haha yeah that’s the spirit!”

As the pair of old friends caught up, Bakugo just watched in shock. He had never seen his bodyguard this lively, and it was because this was the first time in months that he had seen a friend of his. The Prince thought for a moment, did this mean that Kirishima didn’t see him as a friend? He’d never acted like this around the blond Prince. Bakugo huffed, begrudgingly picking up the clothes that the other man had dropped. He felt a strange pain in his chest, like his pride had been hurt, but it wasn’t that. It was something else.  
Was he.. it couldn’t be.. jealousy.. could it?  
The sharp man grunted, creasing the clothing in his hand. He shouldn’t have offered to go into town.

Kirishima was happily chatting away, before he paused to look at Bakugo. “Oh! I completely forgot to introduce you two!”  
“Ah, don’t worry about it Kiri, you don’t have to.. we’ve- uh.. already talked to each other..” Ashido murmured sheepishly, glancing to the blond.  
Bakugo glared hot, flaming daggers at the girl, “tch, I haven’t got the time to be introduced to extras like her anyways,” he snapped, causing Kirishima to stare at him.  
“Bro! Don’t be rude,” he scolded softly, giving Ashido an apologetic look, “this is Ashido, we’ve known each other for years, Ashido this is- uhm, Sero.. he works in the Bakugo Castle with me..” Kirishima lied, quickly catching a glare from the blond, who didn’t appreciate being called Sero.  
“Oh, hi! I’m sorry if I caused you offence earlier, when I was whispering about you..” Ashido apologised, “it’s nice to meet you Sero!”  
Bakugo just rolled his eyes and walked away with the clothes so he could try them on in the changing rooms, he didn’t feel like being friendly with Ashido.  
“Ah..” Ashido frowned, turning back to Kirishima, “man, he’s a bit of a bummer! But damn, he’s a lot like the Prince, huh? He looks a lot like him too!”  
The red head scratched the back of his head, “you.. could say that..” he laughed awkwardly, “Well, it’s been so nice seeing you again! I better get going, I’ll see you later, and tell Kaminari that I miss him and I hope he gets better!” He smiled, hugging the girl once more.  
“I’ll see you around, Kiri..” she said sadly, before calling her friend over and walking out of the shop.

The red head sighed, marching over to the changing rooms once the girls had left. He sat down in a provided seat, waiting for the blond to change and try on what he had picked out.  
“Who was she? A girlfriend?” Bakugo’s raspy voice could be heard from the other side of a red curtain, a hint of jealousy flicked at his tongue.  
“Nah, Ashido is just a friend of mine, bro. Why? Are you jealous?” Kirishima teased, a smirk creeping onto his face.  
The curtain immediately swished open, revealing an angry blond only wearing a pair of blue, ripped jeans that the red head picked out, “hah? Jealous?! Of her? No fucking way, Shitty Hair! Say that again and I’ll rip your head off!” He growled, quickly shutting the curtain again.  
Kirishima just laughed, “dude, chill! I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”  
The other didn’t respond, he just continued to change.

Soon, Bakugo arose from the small, hidden room to show off the clothes. The red head glanced up at the other, standing up to get a better look. He looked at him in awe, he looked so good, god-like, so- ah, Kirishima was getting sidetracked.

The young man was wearing a grey sweatshirt with a black, skull t-shirt underneath, blue ripped jeans and a pair of black converse. To say that Bakugo looked good was a bit of an understatement.

“Oi, Hair for Brains, are you gonna stop staring like a creep and tell me if this looks common enough?” The blond hissed, putting a hand on his hip as he impatiently waited for a response to the new outfit.  
“Ah! Sorry bro, uh, yeah! You look like someone who doesn’t sleep in a castle, if that’s what you mean! What do you think of it?” Kirishima asked timidly, averting his gaze after being caught zoning out.  
“Hm, well it’ll do I guess..” he huffed, “we better go pay or whatever..”

The two walked over to the desk and thankfully Bakugo was allowed to leave the shop wearing the new clothes he had just bought. Before they left, however, the red haired man caught a glimpse of a denim jacket that he quite liked. Kirishima just stood admiring it for a minute, feeling the fabric and wishing he could buy it. However, he didn’t have enough, so he left empty handed.

Kirishima continued to pull the disguised Prince around the town, showing the blond all of his favourite places, including his friend’s, Sato, bakery. The two walked around, sometimes getting stopped by some girls who “wanted ‘Sero’s’ number”. Bakugo would just roll his eyes, whereas the red head would just step in and tell the girls that ‘Sero’ wasn’t interested. Kirishima felt sick whenever the blond was stopped on the street and surrounded by a flock girls, but it was just his protective nature as a bodyguard kicking in, right?

“Man, you’re so popular with the girls!” The young man exclaimed, almost in a complaining manner.  
“Tch, like I fucking care.. I’m used to it,” Bakugo replies nonchalantly.  
Kirishima just stared at him, did he mean for that to come out so arrogantly?  
“You don’t care..?”  
“No, why would I, Shitty Hair? Do you fucking care? Are you jealous of me or something?” The blond questioned, raising his eyebrow slightly.  
“Wha- no! I- uh.. I’m not jealous of you.. I.. don’t.. swing that way.. aha..” Kirishima explained with embarrassment, scratching his arm out of shyness. He wasn’t sure if the Prince was homophobic or not, really hoping that he hadn’t outed himself to a man against homosexuality.  
Bakugo was quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking, “.. oh, alright,” he murmured softly, looking into the pair of red eyes that were glued onto the pavement.  
“Wait,” Kirishima slowly looked up to meet the other pair of eyes, “you don’t.. you’re not.. against that..?” He asked.  
“Hah? Of course not, why would I care if you like guys? It’s not a big fucking deal, it doesn’t make you special. You’re not the only gay guy to exist,” the Prince half-lashed out, though he didn’t mean for it to come across as rude, “I- .. that was a bit harsh.. all I’m saying is that you’re not the only one and you shouldn’t be.. ashamed..” he corrected, defensively glancing away.  
“But.. it’s not really manly, right-?” The red head started before abruptly being cut off.  
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Sexuality doesn’t determine how ‘manly’ you are, how dumb are you, Hair for Brains?”  
“Ah, I don’t know.. I’m sorry..” Kirishima murmured, “I just assumed that you wouldn’t.. accept it I guess..”  
“Well that was a fucking dumb thought,” Bakugo scoffed, scuffing his new shoes against the pavement, “why would a gay Prince be against your homosexuality?”  
The young man perked up, his eyes widened a little, “wait, you? Oh man, bro really?” He asked in disbelief.  
“Tch, yes.”  
Kirishima grinned, “bro I’m sorry for suggesting that homosexuality means unmanliness! You’re the manliest person I know!” He apologised assertively.  
“Shut up I know that,” Bakugo snapped, “ugh let’s just keep going, where else do you want to show me, Shitty Hair?”  
But before he received an answer, the other threw his arms around the muscular blond and enclosed him into a hug, which caused the stubborn man to tense up, “sorry, bro, I just.. I just need this.. just for a second..”  
Bakugo froze for a second, he wasn’t used to affection at all so he was shocked and confused. He didn’t know whether to push Kirishima off or not, but before he could make a decision, the red haired man had already pulled back.

The pair continued to wander around the town, they didn’t speak much more on the topic of sexuality, Kirishima just talked about the shops and his life before working at the castle. He talked about Kaminari and Mina, and who they are to him, he talked about how he had worked for Prince Shoto Todoroki - but Bakugo cut him off pretty quickly with that conversation.

It was beginning to get dark, and the Prince had to be back at the castle before 6pm. It was 5:15pm, 15 minutes before most of the shops closed, and the two young men started wandering back towards the secret entrance, passing various shops that they had looked around in. They then passed ‘Jean’s Best’, causing the red head to peek at the mannequins on display once again. Bakugo saw how much Kirishima liked the shop, so he told the other to wait outside whilst the blond went inside one last time. The red haired man waited patiently by the door, wondering what the Prince had gone in for.

A few minutes passed before he began to worry about what Bakugo was doing, biting his lip in anticipation. He trusted the blond, whatever he was doing must’ve been important.

Soon enough, Katsuki Bakugo appeared once more, holding a new plastic bag. He shoved the bag into Kirishima’s arms and stalked off down the road, continuing to make his way to the bushes which hid the secret path. “I saw you eyeing that earlier.. so I thought I would fucking buy it for you or whatever, but it doesn’t mean anything, dumbass! So you better not tell anyone..” the easily-irritated man grumbled.  
The bodyguard was taken aback, keeping a grip on the bag. He raised his eyebrows and opened it up, to reveal the denim jacket he liked. The man smiled, glancing back up to see that Bakugo was far down the road by now, causing him to chuckle and jog to catch up with him.  
“Hey! Thank you, bro, you didn’t have to!”  
“But I did so fucking deal with it,” The blond growled, clearly embarrassed by the gesture.  
Kirishima grinned as he walked beside the Prince, “okay, okay, thank you.. today has been super fun, don’t you think?”  
“Tch, I guess so,” he huffed in response, “we probably won’t be able to do this very often, the old hag is adamant that I only leave the castle grounds if it’s for a fucking royal event..” he muttered, clearly disappointed by the Queen’s wishes.  
“Oh, well, that’s alright.. I don’t mind.. I like hanging out with you, bro! Whether it’s training or just talking or going to town.”  
“Tch, so easily amused..” Bakugo rolled his eyes.  
“Is that a bad thing?”  
“.. I suppose not..”

Once the two reached the castle, the Prince went straight to his room and gave Kirishima the rest of the evening off. The red head bodyguard used his time off to try on his new jacket that he was gifted. He walked into his room, dropping the bag onto his bed and lifting the jacket from inside. His red eyes admired the new item of clothing, smiling fondly as he played back the memory of the Prince giving it to him. Kirishima put on the jacket and luckily it fit. He turned to look in his mirror, grinning proudly at his reflection.

The young man chuckled quietly to himself, ‘Bakugo is so cool..’ he thought to himself, carefully taking off the jacket to place it neatly in his closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh this chapter took a while to write! I had minor writer’s block!! :(  
> But it’s here now! Thank you for reading this chapter!
> 
> \- Salty


	10. Unwanted and Reluctant Feelings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Yaoyorozu royal family and other royal families visit the Castle of Bakugo. The Yaoyorozu and Bakugo family make business proposals that Kirishima doesn’t like.  
> What will he do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THIS NOTE!!
> 
> My original upload for Chapter 10 was ABSOLUTE TRASH LOL  
> So I rewrote it! It’s completely different from the first upload, so if you read the other upload, I suggest you read this one.
> 
> Ok thanks, enjoy!
> 
> \- Salty

A few weeks had passed since the duo’s trip into the local town, Kirishima and Bakugo had become as close as ever after sharing sweet moments - which the stubborn Prince would never admit enjoying. And ever since the two had returned from town, the young, red head cherished the denim jacket that was given to him from the blond. He’d often try it on in the mirror, posing and laughing to himself. The gift meant so much to him, it being an honour that the heir to the throne would give such a present to a mere bodyguard. To Bakugo, it was probably nothing, but to Kirishima, it truly meant something.

And ever since that day, the boisterous man would treat the Prince like his best bro, like they had known each other for years.

But to everyone around them, this new development of intimacy between the two was certainly strange and foreign. No one had ever been so comfortable and casual around the young, pretentious man. And Bakugo had never let anyone act that way around him. Kirishima was definitely important to him, whether he’d admit it or not.

They were close, closer than the Queen had ever predicted, they were almost inseparable, like the positive end of a magnet bonded to a negative end of a magnet. 

Bakugo had very slowly reduced calling the other by ‘Shitty Hair’, even though Kirishima didn’t mind one bit being called that. 

*

“Remember, Katsuki, you need to be nice to her.. The Yaoyorozu family is very respected across the nation, it would be smart of our kingdoms to unite-“  
“Yeah, whatever, but fucking understand that I refuse to marry that happy-go-lucky bi-“  
“Katsuki! This is the exact behaviour that I’m talking about! You’ve never met the Princess, so how do you know you won’t like her?” The Queen grumbled frustratedly at her son’s poor attitude, “now go get changed, for goodness sake, the guests will be arriving in less than an hour..”

The Bakugo’s had invited the Yaoyorozu family for a dinner party, along with other royal families, to discuss business plans, such as trading and shares of the land. The best way to become an ally of such families was to marry off the heirs, hoping that the two would like one another.

The blond Prince rolled his eyes with agitation, he wasn’t in the mood to have his whole future planned out right before his eyes. He stormed his way up to his chambers, brushing past Kirishima as he swung open his door, slamming it shut once he was inside. The Bodyguard frowned, ‘the Queen must’ve said something to upset him,’ he thought to himself.

“Sir? Bakugo? Is everything alright..?” He asked, knocking the wood gently to not provoke the Prince any further.  
“I’m fucking dandy..”  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
A hesitant clicking sound, to signal that the Prince had opened the door for the other, could be heard, “it’s about tonight..”  
The red head shuffled inside, closing the door behind him, “the dinner party?”  
“Yeah.. that..” Bakugo exhaled, violently swinging his wardrobe door open to reveal a variety of suits, smart clothing and more. He flicked through his selections, before picking out a long sleeved, white button up shirt, black trousers and a slim belt. He stood in the mirror for a moment before removing his shirt to replace it with the button up, “the old hag wants me to have a good relationship with Princess Yaoyorozu.. they want me to marry her in the future, just so my family can have more land to rule..” he grunted, doing up his buttons whilst he complained.  
“Ah, I.. I see..” Kirishima murmured, feeling a bullet piercing through his heart, “well, maybe she’s not that bad? I mean, I know you won’t be interested either way.. but maybe you could keep it as a platonic relationship?” He offered carefully, knowing that Bakugo could be easily irritated.  
The blond huffed, “I just hate how I have no say in the matter, I have to marry her whether I want to or not.. and I don’t fucking like dinner parties either, they’re stupid.”  
“I know, bro.. it’s not.. ideal.. but hey, if you wanted, I could accompany you if you’d like? So you don’t have to constantly talk to people you hate?” The bodyguard offered kindly, looking away as the young Prince changed, though he’d try to sneak a glance every now and then.  
“Tch, I guess that’s not a bad idea..” Bakugo muttered, keeping the top two buttons undone; he didn’t enjoy wearing dress shirts very much.  
Kirishima grinned, “I’m happy to help, Baku-bro!”  
The blond huffed, “whatever, you can go now, wait for me outside of my chambers. You will be escorting me downstairs a few minutes before the guests arrive.”  
The red head bowed, quickly leaving the other in peace.

*

“Prince Bakugo? Ah, it’s so nice to finally meet you! Your parents speak quite highly of you,” the soft, sweet voice of the young Princess Yaoyorozu exclaimed.  
‘God she’s too sickeningly sweet, it’s almost unbearable,’ the blond Prince thought to himself, gritting his teeth tightly before replying, “it’s nice to meet you too, or whatever..” he murmured, restraining himself from rolling his eyes as he quickly kissed her hand.  
“And who’s this?” The black haired woman asked with a smile, looking at the red head stood next to Bakugo.  
“This is Eijirou Kirishima, my personal bodyguard..” the blond said, glancing over to the other man.  
“It’s an honour to meet you, your highness!” Kirishima grinned, bowing and gently taking the Princess’s hand to place a respectful, polite kiss on it.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you! And I must say, my Lord, your castle is very impressive, it’s beautiful,” she smiled.  
“Ah, uh, thanks.. I hope you enjoy the evening, later we will need to discuss business with our parents, but for now I suggest you meet other families. Talk to me when it’s about the union of our kingdoms..” the Prince brushed off nonchalantly, though it came off as slightly rude. However, Princess Yaoyorozu didn’t appear at all bothered.  
“Of course,” she curtseyed, “enjoy your evening, Prince Bakugo,” The Princess elegantly swayed away, almost immediately finding another family to mingle with.

The Prince turned to his bodyguard, who didn’t dare interrupt the pair of royals’ conversation. The arrogant, young man then huffed before slowly walking around, Kirishima beside him.

“She seemed nice, don’t you think?” The red head grinned, but stopped once he noticed the Prince acting irritated.  
“She was too nice. It made me feel sick,” Bakugo commented bluntly, scoffing as he crossed his arms, “there’s no way I’m marrying her.”  
“Give it time, bro, I’m sure you’ll.. Uh.. warm up to her!” Kirishima tried his hardest to cheer up his friend.

During this conversation, the bodyguard felt an uncomfortable pain in his chest, almost like a stabbing sensation but more personal and more painful than a real knife. Maybe he just felt sympathetic towards Bakugo, since he clearly wasn’t enjoying his time, maybe he felt awkward talking about the Prince’s future wife, maybe it was something completely different. Nonetheless, he brushed it off as nothing.

Half an hour passed before the young Yaoyorozu returned, calling the blond over to a table where his parents and the parents of the Princess sat. As she led Bakugo over, Kirishima walked beside the pretentious man, whispering encouragement, saying things like ‘it’ll be okay’ and ‘you got this bro, I believe in you’.

The Prince pulled out a chair at the table - intending it to be his - yet the black haired Princess placed herself delicately into it, thanking Bakugo for pulling it out for her. The young man gritted his teeth before taking the seat beside her, whilst Kirishima stood a couple of feet behind him.

“Right, shall we begin?” Queen Bakugo asked, glancing around the table.  
“This is a private discussion, young Bakugo, please may you tell your servant to leave us in peace?” The Queen of the Yaoyorozu family asked, glaring sharply at the red head, who simply smiled uncomfortably back at her, quickly looking at Bakugo.  
“He stays,” the young Prince responded harshly, and without room for debate, “if you don’t like that, tough. I trust him enough to know that he would not go sharing details from this conversation.” The comment made Kirishima smile a little, before looking back at the Queen.  
“Young man, apologise to her majesty!” His mother hissed, before looking over to the other Queen, “ I am terribly sorry for my son acting so poorly..”  
“It is no matter, if the young Prince trusts him, then we should too.. now let’s begin..”

The two Queens and King Yaoyorozu talked business whilst the Princess fiddled with the fabric of her dress, straightening it out, and Bakugo stared blankly at the table. However, soon enough the conversation of marriage came up, snapping both of the young heirs’ out of their headspace and back to the rest of the world. By now, Kirishima felt oddly uncomfortable with the topic, feeling that Yaoyorozu wasn’t right for Bakugo. One, she was a female, already she wasn’t meeting the criteria. And two, yes she was nice, but the red head could see the blond becoming quickly bored of her. Kirishima knew that the young man enjoyed a challenge, someone he could compete with - whether is was in sparring, or running, or anything.

“You two are still young, however nearly at the right age to marry. I’d say with give it a year and a half? But in the mean time, we can continue our goods trade and share out the land more equally?” Queen Yaoyorozu suggested, earning nods from around the table.  
“A year and a half?” Bakugo blurted out in disbelief, “that’s too early,” he complained.  
‘A year and a half is too early,’ Kirishima thought internally, fidgeting uncomfortably on the spot.  
“Well, I suppose so.. however, if we marry you to our daughter early, then the alliance is much stronger much earlier..” the Queen justified, slightly frowning from Bakugo’s protest.  
The Prince looked to his mother for support, who simply frowned at him. Of course she wanted the best for him, and to her this would be a good thing. The blond man then looked to the Princess, who also appeared visibly uncomfortable with the thought of marrying so quickly though she chose not to speak up about it. It was a good business exchange.  
“-Surely the decision should be up to the heirs!” Kirishima uttered suddenly, before quickly covering his mouth with his hand, his eyes widened and he stared at the ground. He shouldn’t have spoken out, not after the Yaoyorozu’s originally felt tense with him being there.

The red head felt hot, he could tell without looking that eyes were on him like a hawk on its prey. Slowly, he picked his eyes up, keeping contact with Bakugo’s surprisingly soft, red, eyes. He didn’t seem angry, more like thankful. The same went for the Princess, it was mainly the two Queens who looked at his with shock, and almost disgust.

“I’m.. sorry?” Queen Yaoyorozu asked with an offended tone, “could you please elaborate?”  
The bodyguard was quiet at first, gnawing on the inside of his cheek, almost to the point where he drew blood, “Well.. the alliance will mainly affect their reign, rather than yours? It will affect them and what they’re going to be like once they’re King and Queen, their future. I think they should decide what to do!” Kirishima felt quite strongly about this, and because of that, he spoke with confidence.

The sharp blond began to smile to himself, letting out a quiet huff of approval. Once he noticed that he was smiling, however, he immediately snapped back to his cold expression that usually rested on his face.

“I think Kirishima is right,” the Princess finally said, “the Prince and I should discuss terms of a possible wedding. Even if we were to get married, I’d like it to be later than a year..”  
“Momo,” warned her mother, “please-“  
“No, mother, I refused to be married off without having a say in it! We can still create an alliance without marriage. Please, let Prince Bakugo and I talk about it, rather than you deciding for me.”  
“The Princess surprisingly has a good point..” The blond man chipped in nonchalantly, placing one elbow on the back of his chair, leaning back into it. The Princess felt a little offended of Bakugo’s use of ‘surprisingly’, but she didn’t bring it up. “It’s our lives, our future. We should control that, obviously.”  
Both of the Queens simply sighed, quietly exchanged some words between each other before coming to a conclusion.  
“Fine, you two make a good point.. we will go forth with an alliance, however we do advise that you two do marry in the future.. it’ll definitely benefit the two of you, but we do understand what you’re saying,” Queen Bakugo calmly concluded, “you two may leave if you’d like, that is all we needed to discuss.”

The young heirs nodded, before getting up from their seats and leaving the table with Kirishima following behind. The Princess soon split off to talk with the Midoriya’s and the Uraraka’s, so Bakugo and his bodyguard were left alone together.

“Thanks for that..” the Prince murmured, causing the red head to tilt his head.  
“Huh..?”  
“- for fuckin’ sticking up for us back there..” Bakugo hissed with embarrassment.  
“Oh! Right! Yeah, it’s no problem.. you were clearly uncomfortable so I-“  
“I don’t care why you did it, I’m just thankful that you did..” the blond felt his cheeks and ears grow red, which made him cover his face, “don’t look at me like that, Shitty Hair!”  
Kirishima had been smiling sheepishly at the other, he laughed, “bro don’t be embarrassed! I won’t judge you! I’m just.. glad that you’re thankful.. I didn’t want that attempt to be for nothing!” He joked, also growing red. 

The pair became very red, very quickly, Bakugo had ended up excusing himself to escape to the bathroom, whilst Kirishima awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, scratching the back of his head. The bodyguard exhaled once the Prince was gone, why did he feel so awkward around the blond?

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugo clenched tightly onto the sink basin, staring disappointingly at himself. Why was he such an idiot? Images of Kirishima flashed through his head for a second, causing the young man to wobble and stumble backwards. He quickly shook the visions away, grunting frustratingly. Prince Bakugo didn’t.. like Kirishima, did he? A Prince, falling for a servant? And bodyguard? 

No, absolutely not.

Or..- no. Of course not! That would be absurd!

The blond thought deeply, closing his eyes to gather his thoughts. He was going to go back out there, he wasn’t going to act like a buffoon, he was going to stay strong and cold like normal.

And so the Prince strode out of the bathroom and back into the hall, where everyone was. He spotted Kirishima from across the hall, he was chatting to some damn extra who worked in the castle. What, was she better than Bakugo?

The young man bee lined to the bodyguard, before being stopped by the Princess Yaoyorozu. Bakugo snapped out of his phase, and looked at the Princess with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, there’s going to be one final song soon, and I know neither of us are that keen to marry each other right now... or ever, but could we just have that one dance? To make our parents happy? Please?” The black haired woman asked kindly, smiling at the other.  
The Prince rolled his eyes but complied reluctantly, “Yeah, whatever.. it’s just a dance anyway..”  
“Yeah, this doesn’t mean anything to me, I just think it’d be nice I suppose..” she responded with a quiet snort, carefully taking the man’s hand and leading him to the dance floor. 

Prince Bakugo, who was completely and utterly unbothered, put his hands onto the Princess’s waist - the woman putting her arms around the neck of the blond. 

“Let’s get this over with..” he muttered under his breath as the music faded into the start of a new song.

If you were to meet Katsuki Bakugo for the first time, you wouldn’t think he would be a good dancer. Hell, you’d probably think that he had never danced in his life. However, he was quite the opposite - elegant, charming, graceful. He was amazing. His movements flowed and mixed well with the young Yaoyorozu, wowing the audience. Everyone was watching, in silence, as the pair danced. 

Everyone, including Kirishima.

The red head just stared, his heart beating out of control, his hands sweating like mad. No, this wasn’t right. It couldn’t be.

Maybe it’s just a dance and nothing more- or is it? Kirishima bit the inside of his cheek once more, feeling awfully uncomfortable and in pain. Emotional pain.

Quickly and quietly, the bodyguard slipped subtly out of the hall and into the nearest bathroom. He felt sick, watching him dance with the Princess like that. This was hugely unprofessional of him to leave the room without informing the Prince. However, he didn’t really care. He just wanted to sleep and not think about any of that.

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened, the bodyguard swiftly looked up to the door.  
“Baku-? Uh! Oh.. Sero, hi!” Kirishima changed his mood as quickly as lightning striking down to Earth.  
“Oh, hey! Wait, dude.. are you.. okay? What’re you doing in here?” The black haired man asked with a frown forming.  
“Nothing, bro! I’m all good!”  
“Are you sure..? You can tell me if you aren’t. I’m the royal advisor and your friend, you know.. you can talk to me..” Sero offered kindly, smiling at Kirishima, who quickly broke his act.  
“Alright.. I’m terrible at lying anyways, so I might as well just be straight up about it..” The red haired sighed, carefully opening up to the other. 

He talked about how much he admired the Prince, how much he cared for him, how manly he thought the blond was, how he felt uncomfortable talking about Bakugo marrying someone, how he felt sick whilst watching him and Yaoyorozu dance.

“I see.. Kirishima, are you.. gay? It’s totally cool if you are! I just think.. maybe.. you have a crush on the Prince..? Because what you’re describing makes me think that you do..” Sero deduced, giving the other a supported smile.  
“You think I like Bakubro?”  
“Well, yeah.. you’re really close with him, and you’re both good looking guys, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he liked you back..”  
“He doesn’t. And if he did, we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.. I’m just a bodyguard, his parents want him to be with 1) a girl and 2) royalty. It’d never work out..” Kirishima dropped his head in disappointment, going awfully quiet.  
“Hey, don’t lose hope so quickly.. alright? Maybe you should talk to him about it.. he’s not the type of person to completely ignore you if he doesn’t feel the same..” Sero suggested optimistically.  
“Yeah.. I guess you’re right..” the red head mumbled, giving the advisor a fake smile before leaving the bathroom.

By this time, the dance had been over for around 5 minutes. 5 minutes is a long time when you have no one to talk to. The Prince experienced that long 5 minutes whilst Kirishima was in the bathroom. The blond glanced around trying to look for him, but was quickly ushered to say thank you and goodbye to the guests, who had begun to leave.

Once the royal families left, the blond Prince turned to see the bodyguard standing away from the other servants. Bakugo raised an eyebrow, Kirishima looked upset. 

The Prince quickly walked over to him with a frown, “the fuck is wrong with you? Also, where have you been, Shitty Hair?”  
“Huh?” Kirishima snapped out of zoning out, “Oh, uh, sorry.. I’m just tired..” he lied, not making eye contact with the other.

Bakugo wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t press further. He walked sleepily upstairs with the red head following behind. The Prince made casual glances over his shoulder every now and then, noticing how quiet and lonely the other man appeared.

Once they reached the door to the Prince’s chambers, Kirishima said ‘goodnight’ to the blond before walking straight on to his own room. Bakugo huffed, and entered his room. He undressed and changed into pyjamas, brushed his teeth and got into bed.

He thought about the other man. Did Bakugo do something to upset Kirishima? Or was it something else? The Prince grunted frustratedly, obviously distressed by the thought of the bodyguard being clearly upset, that even a child could tell that he wasn’t feeling okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This,,, is my longest chapter I’ve uploaded (3,486 words loooool)
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this reupload, and once again I apologise for how rushed and terrible the original was. I hope this is 100x better!
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> 
> \- Salty


	11. Confessions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugo and Kirishima get into a bit of an argument over how the bodyguard is acting lately!

The next morning was painful for Kirishima, images of the Prince dancing with Princess Yaoyorozu slapped him in the face. He hated how much it affected him when it shouldn’t - Bakugo was gay! He wouldn’t have feelings for the Princess. Yet, Kirishima still felt uncomfortable with the thought of them dancing. Maybe it wasn’t who he was dancing with, but rather that he was dancing with someone else. He hated how Sero was probably right about him having a crush on the blond. 

He grunted and sluggishly got out of his bed. The red haired man shuffled over to the mirror, staring back at him was a sad, tired young man. 

Kirishima took a deep breath to collect his thoughts, he tried for a smile. There, that’s better. 

He wasn’t completely upset anyway, thankfully he had a job to keep him entertained and busy. He didn’t have to think about the fact that the Prince could never be in a relationship with him because of his position; he didn’t have to think about how Bakugo probably didn’t like him in that way anyway; he didn’t have to think about how the Prince would inevitably marry and be with someone that he didn’t like; that he’d have to spend time with someone who he didn’t get along with.

Okay, maybe Kirishima was upset about it. However, he liked his friendship with the explosive man, he got to spend time with him - even if it meant little to nothing to the other.

*

“What’s on the agenda today, Sir?” The guard cheerfully asked, his large and familiar smile practically blinded the Prince.  
“Not much, just a training session, and I have to go to a fucking meeting after lunch..” Bakugo huffed impatiently, clearly not fond of the idea of being trapped in a room for an hour or so with his parents and some other noble people asking about trades and alliances.  
“Oh, okay, quite a laid back day then, huh?” The red head said, as he began to walk down the hall to the stairs. However, he stopped when he realised the Prince wasn’t following after, “sir-?”  
The blond folded his arms, staring at the other, “‘the fuck are you so dandy for?” He then snapped, studying Kirishima’s face for any signs of flinching or awkward glances away, “You were really mopey last night, Shitty Hair,” he muttered as he swayed towards him.  
“Huh? What do you mean..?” His smile turned into an anxious one, his eyebrows creasing slowly.  
“You know what I mean, something was wrong and you didn’t tell me,” he murmured, “if I did something, then fucking tell me.”  
“You didn’t do anything, Bakugo.. I was fine, seriously-“  
“Cut with that bullshit,” the blond growled, “and stop dancing around the subject.”  
“Seriously, it’s okay..” Kirishima mumbled, glancing to the floor for a moment.  
“Kirishima!” The Prince groaned frustratingly, clenching his fist. 

He only really used the bodyguard’s name when he was being serious or if he was annoyed with him. It took the other by surprise, snapping his head back up to the explosive man.

“Do you think I’m gonna make fun of you or some shit?” Bakugo took a step towards the other, almost threateningly - though that wasn’t his intended tone.  
“Well, no it’s not that; it’s just-“  
“Do you not trust me to keep what you say to me a secret?”  
“What? No! It’s just-“ The red head took a step back.  
“Just what-“  
“It’s not professional for me to tell you, Bakugo! That’s what!” Kirishima blurted out with an aggravated, sharp tone, his eyes shut together tightly as he spoke, however his breath hitched once he realised that he had shouted at the Prince, “.. Ah.. I’m sorry, sir.. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that..” he sighed sheepishly. 

The blond’s expression changed slightly, his eyebrows softening from their usual furrowed state. His eyes darted away from the other, exhaling before stepping away. Kirishima’s eyes grew worried and slightly mortified, surely snapping at the Prince was a punishable action?

“Bakugo..? I really didn’t mean to shout like that I just-“  
“Don’t bother, I get it. You don’t need to apologise or explain..” the Prince muttered, he stepped over a boundary which he shouldn’t have, “I’m.. I’m sorry.. ok? You don’t want to tell me, it’s whatever..”

The air was suffocatingly awkward and tense, anyone could sense it from a mile away. Kirishima clenched his jaw, he wanted to tell Bakugo, but he knew that no good would come from it. The Prince silently turned around and walked down the corridor; gulping, the bodyguard followed a couple metres behind.

For the rest of the day, Bakugo and Kirishima hardly exchanged words - aside from a couple of orders being commanded. 

Both of them hated it.

Bakugo just wanted to know what was bothering the bodyguard, he couldn’t stand to see him distance himself; it was like they were slipping back into square one. 

His only friend, and he blew it. 

The blond couldn’t express with words how hard the day was, knowing that Kirishima probably hated him.

Meanwhile, the red haired man felt the complete opposite about the explosive young man. He shouldn’t have yelled at him. He should’ve told him. Told him that he saw Bakugo as more than just a Prince, more than his boss, more than a friend. 

The pair both knew that they had a bond, a close one, a strong one. So why was it so hard for them to get over this? Maybe they both knew that their feelings were stronger than they were lead to believe. 

Sure, the Prince thought Kirishima was an attractive, fun, competitive guy, but that didn’t mean anything, right? He couldn’t like a servant, a common man, that wasn’t allowed. And therefore what he felt towards the other meant nothing.. right?

Convincing himself was definitely tiring and difficult work at this point.

*

4:30pm rolled around, the meeting had just finished, which meant the blond swiftly left his chair and fled the room - not leaving enough time to say even a simple ‘goodbye’. He hated meetings, so he was relieved that it was finally finished. It had been dragged on much longer than he would’ve expected. 

Kirishima was stood outside the door to the meeting room, his eyes fixated on the floor as he waited for the blond to return. A click of the door made the red head look up and stand to the side as the Prince flew from the hall. The bodyguard quickly followed behind, he knew how much Bakugo disliked meetings - and he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t like them.

“How was it..?” Kirishima tested carefully, though he knew the answer; maybe he could break the ice of tension by talking to him.  
“S’fine..” the blond responded quietly, glancing over his shoulder to look at the young man trailing behind him.  
“Oh..” the bodyguard murmured, rather surprised the explosive man didn’t jump into complaints, after complaints, “is there anything else planned for today?”  
“No. You can have the rest of the day off, I’m just going back to my chambers..” his voice was gruff, like any further comment would make him snap.

Kirishima simply nodded, his expression dropping as he carefully began to walk in the direction of the training hall.

Man, why was it so difficult to tell Bakugo? Maybe because Bakugo was a Prince, his boss, a public figure. 

The red head just grumbled, pushing open the large, heavy doors that opened to the hall. 

Meanwhile, the Prince kept his head down, his hands in his pockets as he walked up to his bedroom. Before entering, however, he turned to one of the maids - who just so happened to be walking passed.

“You. Tell Soy Sauce that I need him. Now.” He ordered, not even looking up at the girl as he opened the door to his room and walked inside.

*

“Sir?” A knock at the door, “you- er- called for me?” The muffled voice of Sero called.  
“Come in..” the blond murmured back, sitting on the edge of his bed, hands together as he let them droop in the space between his knees.

A click from the turn of the doorknob erupted, the black haired, lanky man walked slowly inside. His eyes wandered over to the Prince, who looked oddly solemn and, frankly, quite empty.

“I.. don’t get it..” the blond’s lips hardly moved, “why does his mood affect mine? Why do I feel.. frustrated? Why won’t he tell me what’s wrong? It’s driving me insane!” He continued, more liveliness returning as he spoke.  
“I- I’m sorry?” Sero responded with a raise of an eyebrow.  
“Shitty Hair! His problems are frustrating me! Did I do something last night? That could’ve upset him? Why do I care?” The blond began to panic slightly, as he wasn’t the best with putting his problems into words.  
“Ah.. sir..” the other started slowly, pausing to think, “okay, well, does he.. uh.. give you butterflies in your stomach..?”  
“The fuck? No? Why the fuck would I have butterflies? How the fuck did they get in there-“  
“N.. no.. that’s.. that’s not what I..-“ Sero sighed at the Prince’s idiocy, rolling his eyes before continuing, “does he give you a funny feeling? Do you feel nervous around him? Anxious? Sick?”  
“I don’t get nervous.”  
“You know what I mean..”

Bakugo thought for a moment, going quiet, “... what does it mean..?”  
“Well.. one- uh.. explanation could mean that you.. well.. you feel more than just friendship with Kirishima.. you know? Like maybe you have a crush?” Sero suggested slowly, was he asking for a death wish? Yes.  
The pretentious young man huffed snobbishly, “I don’t get crushes.”  
“Really? How would you feel if he had a boyfriend..?” Sero tested, folding his arms.  
“Hah? Shitty Hair has a boyfriend? Who is that damn nerd he’s with then? I’ll crush him.” Bakugo’s eyes darted up to Sero’s, murder behind them.  
“You’re bad at lying..”  
“And you’re bad at giving advice.”  
”Huh? Not true!”  
“You never answered my original questions- so yes you are.”  
“I’m getting to them!”

There was silence for a couple of seconds.

“Well?” Bakugo snapped impatiently.  
“Okay, so, your mood is affected by his because you obviously care about him. So when he’s upset, that’s going to make you upset- or- uh.. frustrated I guess..” Sero deduced, trying to think of the other questions the blond had asked him, “uhhhh.. he won’t tell you his problem because.. well, maybe he’s worried by how you’ll react? I mean, you are his superior after all.. he doesn’t want his feelings to get in the way of his job..”  
“I’m not going to fucking fire him just because he’s upset, what kind of boss would that make me?” The Prince spat defiantly, getting to his feet.  
“Well- I think he knows that.. but it still doesn’t mean he wants to tell you..”  
“Ah! This was fucking pointless. What’s your conclusion to all this?”  
“Sir, I think you’re developing a crush. That’s all.. it’s nothing to be worried about! Just.. talk.. to Kirishima. Don’t act defensive or accusatory, it will put him off and scare him away. Just tell him how you feel, that’s all you need to do..” Sero shut his eyes quickly as a reflex to protect himself. However, nothing hit him, so he cautiously peeked an eye open. 

Bakugo wasn’t where he was two seconds ago, the black haired man just heard the click of the door once again. The Prince had just left.

Oh boy.

*

Rushing down the corridor, the blond haired man made his way to the only place he thought he’d find the spiky haired young man - the training hall.

He know what to do or say, all he knew is that his feet were moving on their own. 

Swinging the door open, he found himself staring upon Kirishima, who was training with Aizawa. Graceful yet powerful swings were traded between them, though Bakugo was more focused on the red head. Tireless grunts and triumphant smirks flashed against the young man’s bright smile.

Kirishima’s deep, rose red eyes glanced over to the opened door. His breath suddenly hitched, and his footing was gone; the weight of his body thumped against the mat. ‘How long has he been standing there?’ The man thought, feeling rather embarrassed as he picked himself up from off the floor. Putting on a smile, he quickly shuffled over to Bakugo, the Prince deciding to meet him halfway.

“Your highness, are you wanting another training session?” The older black haired man called over to the blond, “I’m afraid you’ll have to come back lat-“  
“Out, I need to talk to Shitty Hair..” Bakugo cut him off, not sparing him a glance. Aizawa bowed, before picking up his things to leave.

Once the older man left, Kirishima put a hand on his hip, “is everything alright..?” He asked quietly, frowning.

There was a pause, Bakugo froze up, his jaw clenched shut like superglue.

“S..sir..?”  
“Don’t call me that.. don’t you ever listen?” Bakugo hissed out, huffing and gaining his confidence back, “I’m going to train with you,” he stated, walking over to the mat with his arms folded. Once feeling the material sink under his weight, he turned to see Kirishima hadn’t moved from his spot, “we haven’t got all day.”

The bodyguard scoffed out of disbelief, “so.. so does this mean.. that you’re.. not mad at me for this morning?” He asked with hope in his voice as he skipped over.  
“Hah?! I was never mad at you this morning, you’re just paranoid, Shitty Hair..” Bakugo scoffed in return, before wiping it with a smirk, “now lets hurry this up, so I can beat you.”  
The other man just laughed, a smirk also clouding over his facial expression, “you wish, Bakubro!”

And just like that, the two young men focused and fought; their synchronisation flooding back familiarly - as though today’s tension didn’t even exist.

Swinging forward, Kirishima tried his hardest to corner Bakugo, however the young Prince was dodging flawlessly. His smaller frame certainly benefitted his agility, and ability to quickly move out of the way.

The Prince’s deadly smirk slashed across his face, preparing his bombarding attack onto the naive Kirishima. As swift and as graceful as a shooting star, Bakugo ducked behind the red head, jumping up to lose the other’s focus as he kicked out towards the bodyguard.

His moves were so quick, like a bullet slicing through the air, that Kirishima’s brain couldn’t comprehend what had just happened; all he knew next, was that he stumbled and crashed loudly to the ground. It took him a moment to realise that he was in pain from that, still filled with utter confusion. 

“Wh- woah.. Bakubro.. that was AMAZING! So manly! How did you move so quickly?” He gushed, lying against the ground. Slowly, the young man lifted himself from the mat - Bakugo hastily offering his hand for the other to take. “Thanks bro,” Kirishima coughed quietly, taking the blond’s hand and stood up.  
“Tch, I’m just fuckin’ magic, duh..” the Prince sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes.

The two were quiet for a few moments.

“Heh.. today’s been really off, right? I.. I just want to say sorry for how I reacted earlier.. I.. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.. that was just me being stupid and overreacting..”  
“Stop talking about it. It doesn’t matter.”  
“Wh-“  
“Kirishima, I don’t care. Okay? I pushed too far, alright? I’m fuckin’ sorry..” Bakugo scrunched his eyes tight as he spat out his words, they were arrows that had been waiting for too long that they just came out unexpectedly, “my feelings have just been fucking douches lately, I don’t know what to think or feel.. they make me feel sick..” he huffed, folding his arms - he didn’t dare to look at the other.  
“Hah, that’s.. that’s funny..” Kirishima began, but quickly continued so that Bakugo wouldn’t interject, “- it’s just that.. I’ve been going through.. the same thing..”  
The Prince’s snake eyes slowly rolled over to the red head, examining him for any discrepancies, he huffed and his smirk returned as he carefully got closer to Kirishima, “oh.. really?” He whispered delicately, “Kirishima.. I.. I think.. you’re just..” suddenly his confidence faded as he began to flush red, the same red as the bodyguard’s hair, “ugh, you’re just! Fucking stupid! You make me confused! My heart can’t control itself around you! You infuriate the living hell out of me! Just.. fuckin’ stop!” He blurted out in a panic, strings of swear words and nonsense following close behind.

The other didn’t know what to do, but he knew what the Prince was trying to say, and so he decided to shut him up by chuckling and pressing his lips onto Bakugo’s.

Suddenly, the blond’s eyes widened, he was silenced. Then, sliding his arms around Kirishima’s waist, he was.. happy.

For what seemed like a long while, the Prince actually felt warm and fuzzy - though he would never admit that to anyone, dead or alive.

For a second, the explosive man pulled away and glared at the other, “if you tell anyone about this, I will kill you.”  
The bodyguard just laughed, putting his arms around the neck of the slightly taller male, “okay, no one will know,” he grinned.

Oh he was definitely telling Sero.

Soon enough, the Prince let go, he wasn’t the most affectionate person and quite frankly that was enough contact for a whole month for him. 

“C’mon, I need to shower.. you can have the rest of the evening to yourself.. so..” he awkwardly muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “I’ll see you tomorrow..”  
Kirishima smiled and nodded, “you got it, boss! I’ll see you then..”

And with that, the blond walked sheepishly out of the training hall, made it to his chambers before finally crashing. 

Kirishima just smiled to himself, chuckling quietly as he mindlessly headed back to his own bedroom. His head was going off with fireworks, his heart beating like a drum. 

Was this going to get messy..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahah.. soooo,, 2 months without an upload eh?
> 
> I just want to say I’m really sorry and honestly there’s no excuse tbh :(  
> (Man I’m gr8 at the whole.. writing fanfics and actually uploading the chapters in a reasonable time gap aren’t I?)  
> I guess I wasn’t in the mood to write for a while? Which is a shame bc I love this fic with all my heart and it’s ain’t ending anytime soon lol..
> 
> I seriously will try to write quicker! Because this is honestly.. appalling.. lmao 
> 
> But yeah, here it is! Hope it’s not trash🤪
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> \- Salty<3

**Author's Note:**

> Ack! This is my first Kiribaku/Bakushima fanfic!
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy it, I’ll probably write more Kiribaku in the future because I’ve fallen in love with this ship :)))
> 
> (Also, I know the first chapter has no Kirishima in it, trust me, this wouldn’t be an a Kiribaku fanfic without him lmao. Just wait ;) )


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